ORONO, Maine — University of Maine fifth-year senior Madisyn Hartley from Pittsfield picked a perfect time to score her first goal of the season.
Hartley converted a Brynn Dzengelewski pass with just 32.1 seconds remaining to cap a three-goal comeback and supply the Black Bears with a 3-2 America East victory over Bryant University (R.I.) on Breast Cancer Awarness Day at the UMaine field hockey complex on Friday afternoon.
UMaine is now 6-6 overall and 3-2 in the conference while Bryant is 5-6 and 0-3.
It was UMaine’s 11th straight win over Bryant after Bryant won the first ever meeting between the two.
UMaine had lost its previous two conference games marking the first time it had done so since it lost to Albany and Vermont on Oct. 19 and Oct. 26, 2018.
Bryant University capitalized on two of its three penalty corners in the first half to build a 2-0 lead with Dutch senior back Lotte Guitink scoring just 4:30 into the game and with only 1:11 remaining in the half.
UMaine sophomore forward Mallory Mackesy cut the lead in half 58 seconds into the second half and senior midfielder Tereza Holubcova tied it up 6:16 later.
With the time winding down in regulation, Tereza Holubcova sent a pass over to Skowhegan’s Bhreagh Kennedy on the right wing and Kennedy slid it across to Dzengelewski at the near post.
The freshman fired it across the goalmouth to the far corner where Hartley swept it into the open net.
“We have been practicing having someone at the post and someone at the stroke mark, so I just got into that spot knowing that it could come down there and it did. I just had to keep my eye on the ball because I’ve definitely missed a lot of those before,” said an excited Hartley.
Hartley’s goal came less than two minutes after UMaine goalie Mallory Drayer made a terrific save on a point-blank shot by Taryn Rauff.
Mackesy’s 11th goal of the season began the comeback as she blistered a shot from the circle past Bryant goalie Dieneke Hes’ right side. The goal came off a penalty corner.
Holubcova equalized when Poppy Lambert’s rebound shot off Mackesy’s initial drive was saved by Hes. But the ball rolled behind the goalie’s left foot and Kennedy tapped it over to Holubcova to direct it over the goal line.
It was her third of the season.
Guitink opened the scoring by finishing off a pretty passing sequence following a penalty corner insertion by Rauff.
Emma Rothkopf slid a short pass across to Guitink in the middle of the circle and her low shot rolled inside the post to the left of UMaine goalie Mallory Drayer.
The Bulldogs carried the play in the early going but the Black Bears began taking a foothold in the game seven minutes into it.
Guitink expanded the lead when a Rauff insertion came outside the circle to Brittany Gouws, who passed it across the top of the circle to Guitink, whose screened shot slipped inside the near post.
Drayer finished with three saves on eight Bryant shots while Hes wound up wth 10 off 20 UMaine shots.
The Black Bears had 12 penalty corners while Bryant had four.
Hartley said the Black Bears knew they had to play better in the second half.
“We had a good halftime talk. We weren’t executing our passes in the first half,” said Hartley. “The only way we were going to win was if we played as a team. We had to make better passes to each other instead of just dribbling the ball.”
The early goal by Bryant marked the second consecutive league home game that the Black Bears had fallen behind in the first five minutes. They had also done so in a 4-0 loss to UMass Lowell.
“It wasn’t a great start again,” said UMaine head coach Josette Babineau. “Every game, we seem to be trying to find our identity and we kind of get down on ourselves.
“At halftime, we said ‘C’mon guys we can do this. We have to play together and as a team. We have to make better passes and better connections and we have to play for each other,” Babineau added.
UMaine will travel to Hamden, Connecticut on Sunday for a noon non-conference against Quinnipiac.
Bryant will entertain the University of California Berkeley on Sunday at noon in a conference contest.
