Husson’s Strong Second Half Ends UMF’s Championship Hopes

BANGOR, Maine – The second-seeded University of Maine at Farmington (10-5) field hockey team came up short in the 2015 North Atlantic Conference field hockey championship game with a 2-0 loss at top-seeded Husson University on Saturday afternoon.

The championship match was scoreless throughout the first half. The Beavers had their chances in the period with eight shots, including a pair that resulted in defensive saves by the Eagles, and the team also had three penalty corner opportunities.

In the final period, Taylor Shaw broke the scoreless tie for the Eagles with a goal in the 38^th minute. After the Eagles were presented with a penalty corner, Shaw lined a shot into the back of the cage with the assist coming from Taylor Lovely.

Shaw added her second goal of the game about six minutes later as the Eagles used another penalty corner to their advantage. After Libby Kain fired a shot on goal that was initially saved by UMF goalie Patty Smith (Gorham, Maine/Gorham), Shaw was right there to knock in the deflection.
UMF tried to claw back into the game in the final minutes with shots from seniors Rebecca Young (Plainfield, N.H./Kimball Union Academy) and Mara Balboni (Oakland, Main/Messalonskee), but both attempts missed wide.

Smith stopped 11 shots in net for the Beavers. Anne Marie Provencal saved seven shots for the Eagles to earn the win.

UMaine-Farmington closed the book on this season with 10 wins, which is the most in the last five seasons, and advanced to the North Atlantic Conference championship for the second straight season.