Lincolnville native’s heroics for UMaine women’s soccer keep unbeaten streak alive
Kristina Kelly has been a powerful addition to the University of Maine women’s soccer team.
The fleet-footed 5-foot-4 Lincolnville native, a transfer this season from Central Connecticut State, is the second-leading scorer for the unbeaten Black Bears with two goals and three assists in 12 games.
But most importantly, Kelly has been instrumental in two dramatic late comebacks that have preserved the Black Bears’ unbeaten season, 8-0-4 overall and 3-0-1 in America East. The Black Bears are one point behind league leader Binghamton (3-0-2) and have now strung together a 12-game unbeaten streak in America East regular season games (7-0-5).
Kelly’s heroics earned the Black Bears a 3-2 win over Vermont and a 2-2 tie with the University of Maryland Baltimore County.
In the Vermont game, Luise Reinwald tied the game with 2:36 left by heading in a Kelly corner kick. Just 16 seconds later, Kelly threaded a perfect pass to Jordane Pinette who broke in alone and tucked the ball into the far corner for the game-winner.
Two weeks later, she curled a corner kick into the far corner with 7:42 left to cap a two-goal comeback and earn UMaine a 2-2 draw with UMBC.
She didn’t score in last Sunday’s 2-0 victory at the New Jersey Institute of Technology but she led the team in shots on goal with two. And she played 78 of the 90 minutes.
“She has been everything I thought she would be and more,” said UMaine head coach Scott Atherley. “She is incredibly athletic. She wrestled in high school and is super strong. She has a low center of gravity and is hard to knock off the ball. She is an exceptional soccer player.”
Atherley said he likes Kelly’s versatility. She can play up front as a central striker or a wing and can also be an attacking midfielder or a box-to-box midfielder who can attack or defend.
“She is good in one-on-one situations. She can cause a lot of problems with her deliveries into the box and she can also strike the ball from distance,” Atherley said. “Nobody can beat her with her speed. And she is very tenacious and competitive.”
Kelly said she is comfortable wherever she plays.
“Where coach feels the team needs me the most, I’m happy to play there. I’m just happy to be on the field,” said Kelly, a three-time All-American at Camden Hills High School in Rockport and the National High School Player of the Year Player in 2019.
Kelly is the state’s third-leading schoolgirl goal scorer with 159 goals to go with her 58 assists during Camden Hills’ run of four straight state Class A titles.
She is also happy to be back home. Her family has attended every home game and even every away game except one in Chicago, Kelly said. She also said youth players from her former club, Pen Bay, attend home games as well.
She said her transition from Central Connecticut State to UMaine has been seamless.
Central Connecticut State earned two NCAA playoff berths during her time there and she is hoping to help UMaine earn its first ever berth.
“So far, we have been living up to our expectations,” Kelly said, citing that getting the NCAA playoff berth is the team’s number one goal.
“It’s really attainable. We are proving to everybody that we are a really good team.”
She said the players hold themselves to a high standard.
“That’s what makes us good. When we tie, we see it as a loss. And even when we win, we break the game down and critique it,” Kelly said. “We focus on what we can do to help the team more.”
Kelly said for her, it is a matter of maintaining her confidence.
“I have struggled with that in the past. I have to make sure I’m taking [defenders] on and creating chances for everyone else,” she said. “But I would obviously like to score some more goals, too. That would be great.”
Kelly was a two-time first team All-Northeast Conference selection for Central Connecticut State. She had six goals and two assists in 17 games last year and was the team’s second-leading scorer. She was tied for the team lead in goals.
Kelly was eased into the starting lineup because she was coming off a minor surgical procedure on her knee in July. She is now healthy and thriving.
“She has added so much on and off the field,” said UMaine senior co-captain and back Emma Schneider. “She is so nice and she brings a lot of energy. She always gives 110 percent. And she is super strong. I love having her on our team. I’m glad I don’t have to play against her.”
Kelly, a microbiology major, is an avid hunter who also rides a motorcycle.
She is hoping to squeeze some bow hunting in when she gets a break in her busy schedule.
“It enables me some time to relax and take my mind off school,” explained Kelly.
She said the team is very close-knit and attributes some of that to the long bus trips.
“At Central Connecticut, we never traveled more than two hours. Here, our shortest bus trip is three hours,” said Kelly, the state’s third-leading schoolgirl goal scorer with 159 goals to go with her 58 assists during Camden Hills’ run of four straight state Class A titles.
UMaine travels to take on UMass Lowell on Thursday at 6 p.m. before hosting Bryant University on Sunday at 1 p.m.