Julia Ross had a game winning goal late in the first half Friday afternoon, as the #25 University of Maine Black Bears won their seventh straight game with a victory over the University of California in America East Field Hockey action at the Maine Field Hockey Complex in Orono.
Maine at one point had five straight corner opportunities in the first quarter, but couldn’t get any shots on net and the first 15 minutes went scoreless. Hana Davis got the Black Bears on the board in the second after California goalie Cato Knipping made a kick out save on Chloe Walton. Davis corralled the rebound and slammed a hard shot just inside the right post and under the legs of Knipping at 3:17 to make it 1-0. The lead was extended to a pair with 47 seconds left in the half when Knipping came way out of her net to cut off a scoring chance and made a save, but Ross was there to scoop up the loose ball and backhanded a shot under the pads of Knipping into the empty cage for the eventual game winner. It was first goal and first point of the season for Ross.
It didn’t take long for Maine (8-5, 4-0 America East) to add on in the third. Poppy Lambert made it 3-0 off a corner with assists to Brittany Smith and Madisyn Hartley at 1:22. Maddie Cleat scored for the Golden Bears at 6:46 on a corner to slice the margin to a pair. Chloe Walton put things away for the Black Bears with a tally at 4:48 of the fourth quarter. The goal was unassisted and the fifth of the year for Walton and ended the scoring on the day.
Mia Borley made two saves on three shots for the win in net for Maine. Knipping ended with five saves in the loss, as Cal drops to 6-4 and 2-1 in the conference. The hosts dominated shots attempted 18-4, shots on goal 9-3, and corners 8-2. Maine is back in action on Sunday at 1 p.m. as they host the University of California-Davis in another America East matchup. With a win, the Black Bears would match the 1975, 2014, 2015, and 2018 teams for consecutive wins. The school record is 11 in 2011.
