ORONO, Maine – The University of Maine soccer team couldn't hold on to an early lead Thursday afternoon, suffering a 2-1 loss to Bryant in a non-league game at Mahaney Diamond.
A strong performance from
Annalena Kriebisch (1-4-1) kept the Black Bears and Bulldogs on even ground in the second half. The sophomore, who made three saves total, had three game-saving plays in the second half. The biggest came when she alertly slid and toe poked a crossing pass away from an open Bulldog and twice, she charged out to beat a sprinting Bryant player to the ball and negate any chance at a shot.
Sophomore
Nicole Bailey gave UMaine a lead in the seventh minute, with senior captain
Kendra Ridley assisting on the play. Bailey nearly connected with junior
Mikayla Morin for an equalizing goal in the 73rd-minute, but Morin's sliding touch on the cross went wide right.
UMaine (1-4-1) and Bryant (4-1-1) battled evenly, in the second half but Bryant found the net first in the second 45 and the Black Bears' equalizing attempts never materialized. UMaine held the final edge in shots (10-8) while Bryant had the edge in corner kicks (3-2) and shots on goal (5-2).
Rachel Brightman started the game in goal for Bryant and made one save before giving way to Meghan Dalton (2-1-1) at the start of the second half.
Goal Recaps
• (UMaine 1): Ridley controlled the ball in the midfield and then beat her defender to send a through ball up the middle to Bailey. Bailey ran onto the ball, walked in on the goalkeeper and slotted it towards the lower left corner.
• (Bryant 1): Alison Guilmette sent in a cross from the left side and the ball found the head of Remi Manna who as able to redirect it inside the near post.
• (Bryant 2): With numbers up, Arin Small was able to find Katie Cronin in the box, with Cronin tapping the ball over to Marissa Grasso for a tap in into an open net.
Notes
• Ridley's assist was the first of her career, giving her three career points after netting her first career goal in 2016.
• Bailey now leads Maine with four points on one goal and a team-high two assists.
• The all-time series between UMaine and Bryant is now tied at 3-3-1 while the Black Bears still have an edge in overall scoring at 7-6.
• With Bailey's score, all four of UMaine's goals this season have come from four different goal-scorers.
Up Next
• UMaine will remain at Mahaney Diamond for a battle against the Marist Red Foxes on Sunday, Sept. 10.
• The Black Bears will then travel to Cornell on Sunday, Sept. 16 to battle the Big Red in the final non-conference contest of the season.
-UMaine-
