Lara Kirkby scored late in the second half on Sunday afternoon, lifting the University of Maine women’s soccer team to a 1-0 non-conference win over the University of Rhode Island at Mahaney Diamond in Orono.
Maine carried a majority of the action throughout, holding visiting Rhode Island to no shots on goal nearly through the entire 90 minutes. Rams goalie Faith Hutchins however was able to keep her team in the game with some key saves. The Black Bears, who had a 5-2 advantage in corner kick opportunities, would score the lone goal off one of those chances. The junior Kirkby got to a loose ball near the middle of the box and fired one into the lower left corner of the net unassisted just past the outstretched arms of Hutchins with just 7:32 left to play in the match. URI had a chance late off a corner, but their first shot on goal was saved by Kira Kutzinski with less than 30 seconds to go.
Kutzinski recorded her second straight shutout to begin the season for 2-0 Maine, facing just that one shot. The Black Bears outshot Rhode Island 10-2 (5-1 on goal). Hutchins made four saves in the loss for the 0-2 Rams out of the Atlantic 10. Maine will try to move to 3-0 when they host Patriot League opponent Holy Cross on Thursday at 4 p.m.
Story by Chris Lessner
