CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - University of Maine's women's soccer team opened its league schedule in impressive fashion Sunday by posting a 7-0 win over UMBC. As a result, the Black Bears have swept the America East weekly awards as Laura Martel (Lewiston, Maine/Lewiston) and Maddie Hill (Brampton, Ontario/Mayfield Secondary) have been named Player and Rookie of the Week, respectively. The winners for the week ending Sept. 27 were announced Monday.
Martel, a senior forward, earned her second Player of the Week award of 2009 by tallying three goals and an assist in the triumph over the Retrievers. The seven-point performance was the first in an America East contest since the Black Bears’ Marie-Andree Canuel accomplished the feat Oct. 14, 2005 at Albany. Martel, who also received the league's top honor Sept. 8, leads America East in points (17) and goals (8) at the midway point of the season.
Hill, a freshman midfielder, netted her first career goal, which proved to be the game winner, and started the scoring barrage Sunday. The freshman forward struck from 30 yards out 12:20 into the game, the league-opener for both teams. Hill has appeared in all eight games for the Black Bears this season and made seven starts.
The seven goals scored by the Black Bears were the most in a conference contest since Boston University downed Albany 7-0 on Oct. 22, 2004. Elsewhere in league play Sunday, Boston University extended its unbeaten streak against America East opponents to 16 games with a 3-0 win over Binghamton. Stony Brook won its third straight league opener with a 2-0 victory over New Hampshire, while Vermont and Albany played to a 1-1 tie in Burlington.
Team Notebooks:
Albany (5-5-1, 0-0-1 America East), which has already matched its highest win total since upgrading to Division I status in 1999, settled for a 1-1 double-overtime tie against Vermont in its only match last week … The Great Danes outshot the Catamounts, 13-9, and attempted 10 of the match’s 13 shots on net in the America East Conference opener for both schools … Chelsea DeVerna (Setauket, N.Y./Ward Melville) scored the team’s lone goal … She leads the team and all America East freshmen in scoring with four goals and three assists for 11 points … Ashley Tirabassi (Cambridge, Ontario/Monsignor Doyle) was credited with the helper on UAlbany’s lone goal of the contest … Breanna Maggio (Ontario, N.Y./Wayne Central), who leads all America East goalkeepers with three shutouts, went 323:55 without allowing a goal before the Catamounts punched in the equalizer … Her 0.73 goals against average and .861 save percentage each rank first among freshman goalkeepers in the league … The Great Danes’ young defense, which is anchored by Kendra Harrell-Vigil (Avondale, Ariz./Westview) and Casey Marks (Cortland, N.Y./Cortland), has allowed just 1.09 goals per game … The program’s Division I standard of allowing 2.00 goals per game was set in 2007 … UAlbany’s 2-0 win over Iona on Friday, Sept. 4 is still the team’s only match decided by multiple goals this season … The Great Danes play their America East home opener on Thursday, Oct. 1 at 3 p.m. when Binghamton visits Varsity Field.
Binghamton (3-4-1, 0-1 America East) dropped its only game of the week – a 3-0 setback to Boston University in the team’s conference opener. The loss snapped the Bearcats’ three-game win streak… Binghamton plays its two SUNY rivals this week. The program is 16-1-1 all-time against Albany and 3-6-1 against Stony Brook… Freshman forward Jamie Holliday (Apalachin, N.Y./Maine-Endwell) leads the team with three goals and six points… Senior midfielder Amanda Casares (Rahway, N.J./Rahway) has two goals … Senior starting keeper Jen McEachron (Hoosick Falls, N.Y./Hoosick Falls) carries a 1.00 goals against average.
Boston University (5-4-2, 1-0-0 America East) extended its winning streak to three-games last week backed by solid performances vs. Dartmouth and Binghamton. On Thursday night, the Terriers rallied from a one-goal deficit, scoring two unanswered goals, to upend Dartmouth, 2-1, in overtime. Junior Shauna Kelleher (Canton, Mass./Fontbonne) started the rally with her first goal of the season in the 60th minute. Senior Janie Reilly (Coral Springs, Fla./St. Thomas Aquinas) preserved the tie with a pair of spectacular stops in the waning minutes of regulation that sent the game into overtime, where classmate Emily Pallotta (Andover, Mass./Andover) provided the heroics with the game winner two minutes into overtime. Three days later, the Terriers opened America East action when they hosted Binghamton at Nickerson Field, where they are now 5-0 this season and own a 14-game home winning streak. Senior Taleen Dimirdjian (Riverside, Calif./Ramona) scored her first collegiate goal five minutes into the contest and junior Corie Halasz (Milford, Conn./Lauralton) added insurance in the 16th minute. Dimirdjian capped off the scoring with her second goal of the game in the 53rd minute, off a well-placed cross from Pallotta. This week, the Terriers will travel to New Hampshire on Thursday (Oct. 1) for a 3 p.m. contest before travelling to Maine on Sunday (Oct. 4) at 1 p.m.
Hartford (4-5-1, 0-0-0 America East) finished its non-conference schedule with a win and a loss in its final two games … the Hawks opened the week with a loss at Princeton by a 3-0 final and then returned to Alumni Stadium to shutout the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights by a 2-0 final … Against the Tigers, Hartford was outshout by a 20-6 margin, including a 14-2 margin in the first half … Five of the Hawks six shots came from one player, Breeanna Robinson (East Hampstead, N.H./Pinkerton Academy), while Hawks keeper Lauren Brodeur (Wilbraham, Mass./Wilbraham Monson Academy) finished the game with five saves … Against the Knights, Hartford struck early with Robinson scoring in the ninth minute off a pass from Amber Smyth (North Tonawanda, N.Y./North Tonawanda) … Alex Uscilla (Westport, Conn./Saint Joseph) put an insurance goal on the board in the 57th minute, scoring her team leading fourth goal of the season ... Hartford will open up conference play with two home games, the first against Stony Brook on Thursday night at 6 p.m. and then on Sunday, the Hawks host New Hampshire at 2 p.m. … both games will be played at Al-Marzook Field at Alumni Stadium.
Maine (4-3-1, 1-0-0 America East) opened America East Conference
play with a 7-0 win over UMBC… It was the most goals scored by the
Black Bears since Maine defeated Charleston Southern 7-0 during the
2004 season… The Black Bears scored three goals in the span of 16
minutes in the first half to take a commanding 3-0 lead and never
looked back… Maine outshot UMBC 9-3 in the first half alone and
finished with a 19-10 edge in shots, including a 14-3 edge in shots on
goal… Maine’s Laura Martel (Lewiston, Maine/Lewiston) had three goals
and one assist for seven points in the game… The seven points were one
shy of tying the school record for points in a game of eight done on
three different occasions… Martel has scored at least one goal in five
of Maine’s eight games…Martel now has 20 career goals, which ranks tied
for fourth on Maine’s all-time goals list… Maine has four game-winning
goals on the season and all four have been scored by different players…
Junior Kelsey Wilson (Gorham, Maine/Gorham) leads Maine in assists with
four on the season… The four assists are also a career-high for Wilson…
The Black Bears put their two-game winning streak on the line when they
travel to Vermont on Thursday, Oct. 1 for a game with the Catamounts…
Maine then hosts rival Boston University on Sunday, Oct. 4 at 1 p.m.
UMBC (0-7-1, 0-1-0 America East) dropped all three games last week… The Retrievers lost at regionally ranked George Mason, 4-0, on Tuesday… Sophomore goalie Mo Van Vlerah (Ijamsville, Md./Northwest) stopped a career-high 14 shots, including seven in each half… UMBC lost an overtime heartbreaker at home to VMI, 1-0, on Thursday… Van Vlerah made five saves in just over 94 minutes… It was UMBC’s second overtime game of the season after not playing more than 90 minutes in a contest in all of the 2008 campaign… Finally, the Retrievers fell to America East rival Maine, 7-0, in the conference opener for both teams… Van Vlerah tallied seven more saves in the game… She entered the weekend tied for the league lead in saves per game (7.57)… Van Vlerah has played every minute between the pipes for the Retrievers… Twenty-six of UMBC’s 29 goals since 2007 have been scored by underclassmen, including 18 by freshmen… A pair of rookies lead the Retrievers in scoring – midfielder Katie Gitlin (Owings, Md./Northern) with two points and back Aly Gazarek (Manassas, Va./Freedom/South Florida) with one… Another freshman, forward Rachel McKee (Ellicott City, Md./Mount Hebron) is tied for the team lead with nine shots… The Retrievers play three games this week, with a road game at Delaware State (Oct. 2) sandwiched between a pair of home games against Penn (Sept. 29) and America East rival Vermont (Oct. 4).
Maine (4-3-1, 1-0-0 America East) opened America East Conference play with a 7-0 win over UMBC… It was the most goals scored by the Black Bears since Maine defeated Charleston Southern 7-0 during the 2004 season… The Black Bears scored three goals in the span of 16 minutes in the first half to take a commanding 3-0 lead and never looked back… Maine outshot UMBC 9-3 in the first half alone and finished with a 19-10 edge in shots, including a 14-3 edge in shots on goal… Maine’s Laura Martel (Lewiston, Maine/Lewiston) had three goals and one assist for seven points in the game… The seven points were one shy of tying the school record for points in a game of eight done on three different occasions… Martel has scored at least one goal in five of Maine’s eight games…Martel now has 20 career goals, which ranks tied for fourth on Maine’s all-time goals list… Maine has four game-winning goals on the season and all four have been scored by different players… Junior Kelsey Wilson (Gorham, Maine/Gorham) leads Maine in assists with four on the season… The four assists are also a career-high for Wilson… The Black Bears put their two-game winning streak on the line when they travel to Vermont on Thursday, Oct. 1 for a game with the Catamounts… Maine then hosts rival Boston University on Sunday, Oct. 4 at 1 p.m.
New Hampshire (1-8-1, 0-1-0 America East) went 0-2-0 last week, dropping a 2-1 decision to Holy Cross at home Sept. 24, and losing its America East opener, 2-0, at Stony Brook on Sept. 27 ... senior Morgan Keefe (South Burlington, Vt./South Burlington) scored in the 68th minute against Holy Cross to cut the UNH deficit in half ... sophomore Jordyn Krall (Duxbury, Mass./Duxbury) and junior Marika Posehn (Duncan, British Columbia/Cowichan Senior Secondary) earned their first collegiate assists on the play ... senior goalkeeper Ally Yost (Langhorne, Pa.) made nine saves in the contest ... Yost then recorded two stops at Stony Brook ... the Wildcats return to action Thursday, Oct. 1 at 3 p.m. when they play host to reigning America East champion Boston University at Lewis Fields.
Stony Brook (2-7-1, 1-0-0 America East) defeated New Hampshire, 2-0, on Sunday afternoon at LaValle Stadium in its only game of the week … sophomore Holly Razzaghi scored the game-winning goal in the 27th minute … Razzaghi took the shot from 15 yards out and knocked it into the upper right corner of the net … it was the first goal of the season for Razzaghi … freshman Meghan Gilley scored her team-leading third goal of the season in the 54th minute … freshman Sa’sha Kershaw assisted on Gilley’s goal … Kershaw now has a team-leading two assists and is second on the team with four points … the goal came after Kershaw played the ball from midfield towards the top of the 18-yard box … Gilley then ran onto the ball and touched it just past an oncoming Yost … the ball rolled slowly towards the goal before hitting the right post and going into the net … senior goalkeeper Marisa Viola made 11 saves … it was the first shutout of the season for Viola … Viola now has 22 career shutouts which is one behind Cindy Bennett’s program record … Stony Brook held an 8-1 advantage in corner kicks against New Hampshire … the victory over the Wildcats was the Seawolves third straight in an America East opener … Stony Brook will now play three of its next four games on the road.
After dropping a 2-0 decision at Colgate, Vermont (0-7-2, 0-0-1 America East) opened league action with a 1-1 double-overtime draw with Albany at Centennial Field ... Senior Carson Laderoute (Rutland, Vt./Rutland) scored the game-tying goal in the 75th minute for the Catamounts ... UVM moved to 0-7-2 on the year and the draw was just the second tie in 19 league openers for the Catamounts who move to 8-9-2 in conference openers ... UVM is 9-1-1 versus Albany in the all-time series ... Vermont hosts Maine on Thursday (Oct. 1, 3 p.m.) and travels to UMBC on Sunday (Oct. 4, 1 p.m.) for its first road conference match.