CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - Maine and Vermont earned victories in their respective 2013 America East Women's Soccer Championship quarterfinal games on Thursday to move on to Sunday's semifinal round. No. 3 Maine topped No. 6 Binghamton, 2-0, in the afternoon contest, pitting the Black Bears with No. 2 Stony Brook Sunday at 2 p.m. Hartford came back to beat Vermont, 2-1, in the night cap and will face top-seeded UMBC Sunday at 1 p.m. Recap Thursday's action:
at No. 3 Maine 2, No. 6 Binghamton 0
Box Score | Highlights
- Maine scored a pair of early goals and used strong defense to top Binghamton, 2-0, and advance to the America East semifinals for the fifth time in six years.
- Maine struck just five minutes into the game when Eve L'Abbe chipped a ball from 20 yards out that went just over the head of Binghamton keeper Gaby Gold to stake the Black Bears to a 1-0 lead. IT was L'Abbe's team-leading fifth goal of the year.
- Maine added an insurance goal at the 12:50 mark on a corner kick. Maggie Malone had the initial shot which hit the cross bar but Jordan Pellerin was able to get a head on the rebound and put it into the left-side netting.
- The Maine back line combined with goalkeepers Lauren Swant and Claudia Dube-Trempe to record the team's sixth shutout of the season.
- Maine is now 1-2-1 all-time vs. the Bearcats in championship play.
at No. 4 Hartford 2 No. 5 Vermont 1
Box Score | Highlights
- Caitlin Smallfield and Stephanie Santos scored their first goals on 2013 to push Hartford past Vermont for the fourth time in America East Championship play.
- Vermont jumped out to an early lead, as America East Rookie of the Year, Nikki McFarland, collected a failed clear from the Hawks and fired a shot that hit the inside of the opposite post and into the back of the net in the 20th minute.
- Hartford tied the game in the 37th minute off a corner kick from Santos that found the foot of Smallfield on the far side of the box who put a one-time shot into the top-right corner. It was Smallfield's first goal as a Hawk and Santos' league-leading eighth assist.
- The Hawks gained the advantage in the second half, as Santos found the goal for the first time this season off a free kick that she arched over the outstretched arms of Vermont keeper Morgan Nichols.
- Hartford advances to the America East semifinals for the third-straight year.
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