With Tuesday’s 2-1 win over Thomas College, the University of Maine at Farmington field hockey team earned a spot in the North Atlantic Conference championship game scheduled for Saturday at top-seeded Husson. The game time has not yet been announced.
Husson and Thomas met once during the regular season, on Oct. 11 in Farmington. UMF has a grass home field, while Husson plays on turf. Husson won that game 4-0, with edges of 19-3 in shots and 21-4 in penalty corners.
“They’ve been the best team in our conference all year, and I think it’s our turn to step up our game and challenge them,” UMF coach Cyndi Pratt said. “We’re looking forward to the challenge. I think we’ve improved a lot since we’ve played them the last time.”
Husson was 5-0 in the NAC this year, outscoring its opponents 26-0. The only team that played the Eagles closer was Colby-Sawyer, which lost 2-0. Husson out-shot the Chargers 39-1 in that game.
Nokomis grad Taylor Lovley, last week’s NAC Player of the Week, leads the Eagles with 22 points on eight goals and six assists. Freshman Taylor Shaw, also of Nokomis, has five goals and two assists. Another freshman, Mikayla Toth of Skowhegan, has a goal and four assists.
“I think we have to pressure their defense more than we did last time,” Pratt said. “I think we have to be a little bit more aggressive with our play. I think we sat back and let them dictate some of the play.”
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Thomas men’s soccer also has a NAC championship game coming up on Saturday. The Terriers knocked off top seed Colby-Sawyer 2-1 on Tuesday thanks to a late goal by Maranacook grad Dakota Duplissie — his 17th of the year. In Tuesday’s other semifinal, Husson held off New England College 2-1.
The winner of Saturday’s game receives an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. This is the third straight year Thomas has reached the NAC final. The Terriers have also won three out of the last four NAC titles.
Thomas lost 3-2 to Husson on Oct. 7 in Bangor. The Terriers led 2-0 in the second half, and 2-1 with 10 minutes left before the Eagles rallied for two late goals.
Husson keeper Brian Potter is a Waterville native and Erskine Academy grad. Potter has started every Husson game this season and carries a 1.54 goals-against average and a .808 save percentage into the weekend.
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After finishing second in last year’s Big Ten Cross Country Championships, Madison grad Matt McClintock placed third at the same meet on Sunday.
Actually, McClintock significantly improved his time from last year’s meet, when he completed the 8-kilometer course in 24 minutes, 17.9 seconds. McClintock’s time on Sunday was 23:39.9, less than five second behind the winner, Wisconsin’s Malachy Schrobilgen. Michael Vanvoorhis, also of Wisconsin, took second place, and Michigan’s Mason Ferlic was fourth.
“I had one more half a gear coming up the final hill and the Wisconsin guys flew by,” McClintock said in a Purdue news release. “I knew I wouldn’t be able to catch them, but I was able sit on Ferlic and move by him in the final stretch. I’m content with today’s performance, but never satisfied.”
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By now, you’ve probably heard about the University of Southern Maine men’s basketball team, a Division III school that defeated Division I University of Maine 78-73 in an exhibition game Saturday.
Junior forward Aaron Toman, a Gardiner grad, came off the bench to lead the Huskies against the Black Bears. Toman played 15 and scored seven points on 3-of-6 shooting.
Toman averaged 3.2 minutes per game for a USM team that ended up 7-19 last season, but looks to be in line for more playing time this winter.
Matt DiFilippo — 861-9243
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