The USM Field Hockey team opened their season against the University of New England Nor’easters on Tuesday at the Paula D. Hodgdon Field in Gorham. The Huskies fell behind early and could not make up the deficit, losing 5-1.
In the opener the Nor’easters struck first with a goal from sophomore forward Michele Oswald with an assist by junior forward Taryn Flagg just before the end of the first half. UNE then scored four unanswered goals in the second half, one from sophomore forward Brianna Tupper at 43:32 off an assist by Oswald, then two from Flagg at 52:13 and 52:53 off assists by Tupper and junior forward Michaela Franey respectively. Another goal from freshman forward Molly Haden at 56:17 off an assist from Anne Cowles rounded out the pesky Nor’easter’s scoring drive.
USM scored their lone goal at the 61:50 mark with a goal from senior midfielder Christina Corson (Naples, ME/ Lake Region) assisted by freshman forward Kailey Bubier (Auburn, ME/ Hebron Academy). The game was not without some high notes for the Huskies, including a solid performance by senior goalkeeper Allison Hill (Cape Elizabeth, ME) who recorded 9 saves under constant pressure from the UNE offense and junior Heather Gilman (Fairfield, ME) who recorded 3 defensive saves in the game.
Before the start of the opener on Tuesday coach Bonny Brown-Denico designated leadership responsibilities, announcing that senior goalkeeper Allison Hill and senior forward India Lowe (Gloucester, MA.) would be named co-captains for the 2009 season. Hill boasts the career saves record at USM with 570 entering her senior year along with numerous accolades, including the 2006 Little East Conference Rookie of the Year. Lowe enters the season tied for fifth all time at USM for career points with 70 and has also proved to be an excellent performer in the clutch, most notably in last year’s tournament run for the Huskies. The two veterans will look to lead their relatively young team deep into the LEC tournament, where they were eliminated last year in a semifinal game to the eventual LEC champion Keene State Owls.
The team traveled to the Drew University Field Hockey Tournement in Madison, NJ during the recent holiday weekend as they dropped their first game on Saturday to Drew 5-1, but did record their first victory of the season on Sunday against Cabrini College 4-1. The Huskies come into this week with matches against Gordon College on Thursday, and Framingham State College on Saturday, both being played at home on Hodgdon Field.