UMaine women’s soccer rallies for tie to remain unbeaten
ORONO – The University of Maine’s women’s soccer team was in deep trouble.
The unbeaten Black Bears were trailing the University of Maryland Baltimore County 2-0 with less than 33 minutes remaining in the game.
But the Black Bears received goals from Irish graduate student and University of Hartford transfer Doireann Fahey and Lincolnville’s Kris Kelly to salvage a 2-2 America East tie on Sunday afternoon at Mahaney Diamond in Orono.
There are no overtime periods in college soccer regular season games based on an NCAA rule change that went into effect last season.
UMaine is now 7-0-4 overall and 2-0-1 in America East and extended its league unbeaten streak in AE regular season games to 11 (6-0-5) dating back to a 3-1 loss at UMass Lowell on Oct. 28, 2021. UMaine extended its unbeaten streak in regular season home games, including non-conference games, to 15 (8-0-7).
UMB is now 3-9-2 and 0-2-2, respectively.
It was the second time in three games the Black Bears staged a late rally to avoid a loss.
UMaine scored goals 16 seconds apart in the final three minutes to stun Vermont 3-2 in their last home game two Sundays ago. The Black Bears beat Albany on the road 3-0 last Sunday.
Fahey, a back, began the comeback with 32:36 remaining in the contest.
UMaine had a free kick 30 yards from goal and Lara Kirkby chipped the free kick into the penalty area where the on-rushing Fahey headed it past UMBC goalie Abbey Cowles.
“It was good to make an impact like that,” said Fahey, whose goal was her second of the season.
UMaine pressed for the equalizer and former Camden Hills High School of Rockport star Kelly tied it with 7:42 remaining when her corner kick from the right of Cowles curled over the goalie’s head and into the upper far corner.
“I was just trying to put it back post and I was just lucky, to be honest. I don’t practice that,” said Kelly, a former three-time high school All-American and the National High School Girls Player of the Year in 2019.
Kelly has been the catalyst behind the two comeback wins as she assisted on the tying and winning goals against Vermont.
Natasha Munro and Meghan McKye had staked UMBC to a 2-0 lead in the first half.
UMBC had won just one of its last nine games (1-7-1) coming into Sunday afternoon’s contest but the Retrievers certainly didn’t look like a 3-9-2 team in the first half.
UMBC dominated the first 45 minutes. The Retrievers constantly pressured the Black Bears and were much more dangerous in the attacking third than the Black Bears.
The Retrievers won most of the 50-50 balls and had an edge in possession.
UMaine had some promising counter-attacks but they went for nought because UMBC’s defenders effectively intervened. UMaine’s final pass was errant or the UMaine attackers hung on to the ball too long and got dispossessed.
UMBC opened the scoring 25:04 into the game.
Freshman forward Payton Schenning neatly dribbled the ball along the end line to the right of UMaine goalie Kira Kutzinski before threading a perfect pass across a crowded goalmouth to the far post where graduate student forward Munro simply tapped it into the open net for her third goal of the season.
UMBC’s pressure paid off again 12:43 later.
A corner kick sailed across the goalmouth to the far side to Esther Juretzka and she flicked it across to the net front where senior forward McKye calmly headed it home from six yards out for her fifth of the season.
Kutzinski finished with four saves on seven Retriever shot attempts over the 90 minutes while Cowles had two on 10 UMaine shots.
UMaine played with a sense of urgency in the second half and outshot UMBC 9-2 over the 45 minutes.
UMaine head coach Scott Atherley said the first half was the worst half his team has played all season long.
“At any level in soccer, that’s going to happen. This was our 11th game. To our credit, we were down 2-0 and turned it around in the second half. I think it’s a just result today for the performance. You can’t say we deserved to win based on the way we played but that’s going to happen in the course of a season,” said Atherley.
Kelly said she was disappointed with the outcome “but at least now we’re still undefeated and one of many goals is to be better than last season.”
UMaine was 4-0-4 in league play a year ago.
UMBC first-year coach Rick Stainton said to earn a tie against a “tough Maine team that was unbeaten and regional ranked was satisfying but we aren’t overly excited because we know we could have come out with more.”
UMaine will travel to take on the New Jersey Institute of Technology next Sunday at 1 while UMBC will entertain Vermont at 2.