Category: Sports

Bonny Brown-Denico’s office is littered with mementos of past triumphs. Field hockey trophies sit next to game softballs from years past, photo collages of old teams adorn the walls, but sprinkled ever so carefully around the room are Brown-Denico’s most prized possession: pictures of her children.

Thomas Friedman said the world was flat.

My aunt said it’s a small world and my uncle replied he wouldn’t want to paint it.

I guess, in a way, they’re all right. The world is getting smaller and flatter. People are making connections over distances never before imagined.

Junior goalkeeper Allison Hill (Cape Elizabeth) deflected a penalty stroke with 47 seconds remaining to secure a 3-2 field hockey win over Eastern Connecticut Saturday.

A final push in the last minute and a USM penalty in front of the net allowed the Warriors one final chance to send the game into overtime.

Free Press: You’re from Gloucester, MA. What made you want to come to USM?

India Lowe: I was looking at a couple of schools, and I didn’t get in to the Division II school I wanted This was the only other school I applied to.

FP: Are you satisfied with the choice you made to come to USM?

IL: Very satisfied because I have met some of the greatest people and made friends with people I know I’ll stay in touch with my whole life.

Nick Beauchesne

Contributing Writer

Choosing a college is the first real-life decision many of people make. For Colin Reilly, it was a decision that would take him across the country and through a host of experiences that have led the senior to cherish his time on the field, in the classroom, and most importantly, in this state.

John Forestell

Guest Columnist

Just this past week in our neck of the woods, the USM men’s soccer team beat perennially ranked Bowdoin College 3-1 behind senior forward Sinisa Bajic’s (Belgrade, Serbia) two goals and an assist.

It’s efforts like the one he turned in last week that make me think that the Serbian Sensation is USM’s version of a much more vaunted New England athlete: Tom Brady.

The USM Huskies stopped a 3 game slide with a 3-0 shutout of Western Connecticut State University on Saturday. Southern Maine scored 1 goal in the first half, and added another two in the second to breeze past the Colonials.

The Huskies spent the first 10 minutes of action defending their own end as Western Connecticut dominated the possession game, while the Huskies looked flat.

“Sinisa is playing like a man.”

Those were the words of men’s soccer coach Mike Keller in describing the recent play of his senior forward Sinisa Bajic (Belgrade, Serbia).

With two goals and an assist in last week’s game against Bowdoin, Bajic lifted the struggling Huskies to a 3-1 victory over instate rival Bowdoin College in non-conference play.

There were high expectations for senior Gabby Cyr (Fort Kent) and junior Tyler Jasud (Rumford) heading into this fall’s cross country season. Both were slated to be their team’s leader and top performers in the conference.

So far those expectations have been met.

When Sophomore forward Heidi DeHaan (Lewiston) snuck a 22-foot blast into the upper right hand corner of the net just eight minutes into last Wednesday’s contest at the University New England, she silenced an already quiet crowd.

As the game continued, however, the Huskies found that it would be the only time they would have any real momentum on their side, thanks to a relentless offensive attack put on by the Noreasters, which led UNE to a 2-1 victory over the Huskies in non-conference action.

In writing my story about transfers this week I realized that USM – not the University of Maine – should be the only Division I school in state.

Sure, I understand the implication of such a move. The northern two-thirds of the state (where I grew up) would have nothing to do, no one would go to school in Orono and Pat’s Pizza would probably go out of business.

There’s no place like home.

Those were the legendary words of Dorothy as she clicked her ruby slippers together en route for Kansas.

Evidently they hold true for those wearing cleats, sneakers and running shoes, too.

That’s because just like every other sect of the USM population, athletes keep rolling into USM from far away lands and pricy schools to start fresh or finish what they’ve started

And this year is no exception.

September 16

Women’s Tennis @ Salem State 3:30 p.m.

Women’s Soccer @ UMaine Farmington 4:00 p.m.

September 17

Golf @ UMaine Farmington Invitational at Belgrade Lakes Golf Club 10:00 a.m.

Field Hockey @ UMaine Farmington 4:00 p.m.

Men’s Soccer v. BOWDOIN 4:30 p.

The last couple of years have been rocky for the USM women’s tennis team.

Coaching changes, little recruiting, and a general lack of interest sent the program into a three-year tailspin. But now, with a new coach and some newfound interest, the team is back in the win column for the first time since 2005 and hoping to return the program to its glory days.

Huskies crush Monks in opener The men’s cross country team sailed to an easy victory last week winning the St. Joseph’s Runnin’ Monks Early Bird Invitational. Nine Huskies finished in the top ten in the win. Junior Tyler Jasud (Rumford) won the event, running the 5,000-meter course in 16 minutes 41 seconds.

Tell us about yourself Ben. Where are you from? What is your major? What year are you?

I grew up and went to high school in Scarborough, and then I did a post-graduate year at Bridgton Academy where I played soccer before college. I’m currently a senior English major here at USM.

“This is why they’re called heartbreakers,” said senior Rob Dorr after last week’s neck-and-neck match against the University of New England.

And it really was a heartbreaker – the Huskies weren’t losing until there were just 41.7 seconds left on the clock, when UNE rallied for the tie-breaker and a 9-8 come-from-behind win.

Coming out of the first half, the game was tied at five. The Huskies came out on fire, scoring three in the third quarter off the momentum they’d gained in the second. But they couldn’t maintain it, and couldn’t manage to score at all in the fourth quarter, while UNE maintained composure and fired four past senior goalie James Suriyodorn.

But, as he looked back on the game, Dorr admitted that it was one of the best the men played all season. “I was really pushing for us to pull it off,” he said, “but – shoulda,woulda, coulda.”

To the last several generations of athletes, the presence of an athletic trainer is nothing special – they’re in the dugout, on the sidelines and in the clubhouse. They stand watch at games and even at many practices.

The women’s lacrosse program will stick to the benches on Tuesday afternoon – while other Little East teams are vying for a place in Thursday’s semifinal round, USM has earned its first playoff bye – and first home playoff match – in recent history.

Heading into Saturday’s game against rival Keene State, they knew it would be a tough match – they’re a “fast, strong, good team,” said head coach Sue Frost.

The USM baseball team flexed their offensive muscles last week and picked up three non-conference wins before heading into the final stretch of conference play.

Led by juniors Anthony D’Alfonso (Westbrook) and Chris Burleson (Portland), the Huskies slugged their way to come-from-behind wins against Thomas and Endicott and coasted by Bates to move their overall record to 22-9 on the season.

Mike Tardiff

Columnist

Before I met USM baseball coach Ed Flaherty, I already knew a great deal about him. I knew about his playing career at the University of Maine, his two national championships, and the storied baseball program he’s put together here at USM.

Name: Shannon Kynoch

Year: Senior

Major: Social Work

Sport: Basketball, Lacrosse

FP: You’re from the great state of Vermont, which is known for its cheddar cheese, do you enjoy cheddar cheese?

Shannon: Very much so, cheese is one of my favorite foods.

Women’s Outdoor Track

Landry honored by LEC

Senior Hattie Landry (Acton) was named Track Athlete of the Week for her efforts during the week of April 14-20. During that stretch, Landry led the Huskies to a second place finish at the Bowdoin College Aloha Relays with two first place finishes in 100-meter hurdles and the long-jump.

In the Gorham field house, a handful of men and women are pulling giant carbon-fiber rods out of a large bag.

One takes a starting position, a long pole held in front of him as he squints toward the pile of thick blue mats and takes in his breath.

His face goes taut and his fists white as he sprints forward, plants one end of the pole in a trapezoidal groove in the floor and is launched up, up, over a suspended crossbar. He crashes down, sinking into the mats, and rolls off to join his teammates, who are stretching on the green rubber field house floor.

It’s Wednesday night: pole vaulting practice.

One of the more technical and intimidating events in track and field, pole vaulting doubles as a physics lesson in energy conversion – the pole, whose flexibility and length varies according to the athlete’s size and skill, is a tool used to turn a short sprint into a high and graceful flight.

The relationship between the athlete and the equipment is about as intimate as it gets.

“It is a rush the first time you feel that pole bend,” says senior Adam Haggerty.

Senior Taryn Clark has a different, but equally vivid memory. “The first time I did it, when the pole bent, I went flying straight backwards.”