The season for Maine women’s soccer came to an end on Friday night in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, as the Black Bears fell 2-0 to Central Florida at the UCF Soccer Complex in Orlando, Florida.
Maine nearly broke on top early as Gillian Rovers had a good looking strike just a minute in, but it stayed out and UCF found the eventual game winner by Rajanah Reed in the 20th minute. The Knights (12-3-5) got some breathing room from Hannah Boughton, her first of the season, in the 65th minute. The Black Bears kept pushing, and Rovers had another chance in the final seconds but UCF was able to close it out for the shutout victory to advance to the second round.
Guta Franke had two assists for Central Florida, while Liz Worden and Honoka Hamano added one assist each. Genesis Perez Watson made two saves for the shutout, as the Knights outshot the Bears 17-7 (5-2 on goal) and had a 7-2 edge in corner kicks. UCF will play at Duke on Thursday night in the second round. Elena Barenberg made three stops in net for Maine. Luise Renwald led the team in shots attempted with three. The Black Bears, who were making their third straight trip to the NCAA Tournament, ends their season with another America East Championship and a final record of 6-8-4.
Photo courtesy of UMaine Athletics
