Brianna Ricker scored two goals including the game winner in overtime on Sunday afternoon as the Maine Black Bears field hockey team upset the #5 Northwestern Wildcats 4-3 in what is the most significant upset in program history at the Newton Field Hockey Complex in Newton, Massachusetts.
Ricker opened the scoring at 12:13 of the first quarter to make it 1-0 Maine. Bente Baekers scored her 17th of the season in the second quarter for Northwestern to tie it, before Chloe Walton scored at 21:56 to give the Bears a 2-1 halftime edge. Lily Katzman tied it again in the third quarter for the Wildcats, before Brooke Sulinski once again gave a one goal lead to Maine scoring at 38:37. Ana Medina Garcia evened up the game with less than five minutes left in the game for Northwestern (10-4) to send it to overtime. Maine goalkeeper Mia Borley came up big making three saves in the final three minutes of regulation, and then stopping the nations leading scorer Baekers 17 seconds into overtime. Ricker won the game on a breakaway at the 3:22 mark of the extra session, her ninth of the season.
Borley ended with eight saves for Maine (3-7). The Wildcats outshot the Black Bears 15-10 and had a 9-4 advantage in corners. Florien Marcussen made three saves in the loss for Northwestern. Maine is at Monmouth Friday at 3 p.m. for another non-conference matchup.
