ORONO- Lara Kirkby scored two goals, including the game winner in the second period of extra time on Sunday in lifting the Maine Black Bears to their first ever title with a 3-2 win over UMass-Lowell at Mahaney Diamond in front of over 700 fans in the America East Women’s Soccer Championship game. Maine was 0-5 in such games in school history, but this was also the first time they would host the title matchup on their own field.
Maine really dominated a majority of the first half. Their persistence paid off when after a couple shots in front of the UMass-Lowell net were stopped by goaltender Taylor Burgess, Kayla Kraemer would find the rebound and would put it in the net in the 15th minute. On a free kick in the 41st minute, Gillian Rovers tried to get her head on a ball in front and was slammed into by a Riverhawks defender near the box which was resulted in a penalty kick. Rovers was shaken up and had to leave the field, and Kirkby took the PK and converted for a 2-0 lead. After barely any pressure in the first 45 minutes, the guests got back into the game late in the half. A long direct kick with 19 seconds left by Calliste Berkshire ended up finding the head of Julia Edholm who got it past Kira Kutzinski to cut the deficit in half at the break.
Maine in the second half wasn’t able to sustain the same offensive attack, as UMass-Lowell had all the chances a complete reversal of the first half. With under five minutes left, Brookshire was tripped in the box by the Black Bears Rebecca Grisdale resulting in a penalty kick chance for the Riverhawks. Brookshire would make it count to tie it 2-2, and the game would head to overtime which consists of two, 10-minute periods and then if still tied it would go to penalty kicks to decide the winner. After a scoreless opening period of extra time, the Bears got an opportunity four minutes into the second period with a corner kick. Kristina Kelly placed it, and after a scramble and a blocked shot, Kirkby would have the ball come right to her after the block and would fire it high into the upper corner of the net to the right of Burgess from just inside the 18 that turned out to be the game winner. Maine defended well enough over the final four minutes to melt the clock away for their first ever America East Championship.
Kutzinski only faced five shots, saving two of them in the win for Maine. Abby Kraemer continued her good season and also had several scoring opportunities with five attempted shots, with three of them on net. The Black Bears, the #2 conference seed, improves to 11-1-6. Brookshire had a goal and an assist in the loss for #4 UMass-Lowell, and Burgess had seven saves. The Riverhawks, who were making only their second America East Championship game appearance, ends their season at 5-6-7 that included an upset overtime win over #1 Binghamton on the road in the semifinals. Maine, who has a 2+ year run with no losses at Mahaney Diamond (11-0-8), will await word on their location, date, and opponent for the upcoming NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer Tournament during the selection show on Monday at 4 p.m.
After the game, the America East announced their All-Tournament Teams including the Most Outstanding Player of the postseason. Maine players named to that team included Grisdale, Kelly, Kirkby, and Abby Kraemer. Kirkby won Most Outstanding Player, and Myla Schneider also earned the Elite-18 award given to the player who has the highest GPA who is also competing in the Conference Tournament. Schneider had a GPA of 3.96. Brookshire, Ludholm, and Burgess also made All-Tournament Team for their performances during their playoff run.
Recap/Photos/Videos by Chris Lessner
