Poppy Lambert scored with 11:53 left in the fourth quarter Friday afternoon, lifting the top seeded Maine Black Bears to a 2-1 victory over #4 California in the America East Field Hockey semifinals at the Maine Field Hockey Complex in Orono. The win propels Maine to the America East Championship game on Sunday.
Maine (14-6) dominated action from the get go on chances and shots on goal. California though was the first to get on the scoreboard when Megan Connors tallied on a penalty corner opportunity on an assist from Jane Onners at 11:13 of the first quarter. The Black Bears got a penalty shot chance from Lambert near the end of the period, but she was turned away by Golden Bears goalie Cato Knipping. The hosts continued to pressure in the second owning a 14-2 advantage in the first half in shots on goal and 9-1 on corners, but Knipping stood tall to allow California to take that 1-0 advantage to the halftime break.
Hana Davis finally got Maine into the scoring column on an assist from Abby Webber 5:09 into the third quarter. Lambert added to her team lead in goals with her 14th when she scooped up a rebound off a corner for the game winner. The Black Bears ended up with a 20-4 edge on shots on goal and 19-1 on corners that included 10-0 in the second half. Knipping made 18 saves for California, who ends their season with a record of 10-7. Mia Borley made three saves in net for Maine who will face #3 Albany (11-8) in the Conference Championship at 1 p.m. Sunday. The Great Danes outlasted #2 seed Monmouth 1-0 in the other semifinal on Friday. The Black Bears won the lone regular season meeting between the teams 2-1 at Albany back on October 1.
