The University of Maine women’s soccer team finally ended a long scoreless drought on Sunday afternoon, and settled for a 1-1 tie with New Jersey Institute of Technology in an America East contest played at Mahaney Diamond in Orono. It was the home spring opener for the Black Bears, their first home game since October 20, 2019.
NJIT (2-1-1, 0-0-1 America East) would take the lead in the first half on a goal from Lauren Chamberlain at the 37:26 mark. Maine (0-3-1, 0-1-1) finally would put on some good pressure in the second half with Hannah Bamford scoring their first goal at the 70th minute (70:07). The Black Bears had gone the first 344 minutes and 26 seconds of the season without a tally until the equalizer from Bamford. The teams went scoreless through a pair of 10 minute overtime periods without any real good chances, and ended in a draw.
Kira Kutzinski made eight saves in the Maine goal on the day, while Molly Saylor stopped 10 for NJIT. The Bears attempted 23 shots to 15 for the Highlanders, and also had 11 corner kicks opportunities to seven for NJIT. Maine is back in action next Sunday afternoon at UMass-Lowell.
