ORONO, Maine — The University of Maine’s field hockey team earned its first America East tournament championship and NCAA Division I Tournament berth last fall.
English goalkeeper Mia Borley played a pivotal role in the team’s success, becoming the first Black Bear to be named America East’s Goalkeeper of the Year and then following that up by being chosen the America East Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.
Borley headlines a solid returning nucleus that will be joined by seven newcomers as the Black Bears will try to defend their title. They were picked to win the championship in the preseason poll released on Thursday.
UMaine received 60 points and six first-place votes. Albany was selected second with 55 points and two first-place votes and Stanford was third, earning the other first-place vote and 49 points.
Rounding out the poll were New Hampshire (42), California (36 points), UMass Lowell (31), Vermont (25), UC Davis (17) and newcomer Bryant (9).
Monmouth has left the conference to join the Colonial Athletic Association.
“I’m not that surprised based on how our season ended last year,” said Borley on being chosen first in the preseason poll. “But anything can happen. We have to try to be as strong as we were at the end of last year and come out swinging.”
The team gained a lot of confidence from winning its first title with a 2-1 overtime shootout victory over Albany in Orono and going to the NCAA Tournament, where they were beaten 3-2 in overtime at Miami of Ohio.
“We definitely see ourselves as a high-performing team which isn’t something we’ve always felt before,” said Borley, a native of Durham, England. “We feel good and will continue to see ourselves as a team that can do well and isn’t going to be the underdog all the time.”
The 5-foot, 6 ½-inch Borley stopped three shots in the America East semifinal win over California. In the final she made seven saves and then stopped five of six attempts in the overtime shootout.
“I play with all of my heart, especially in the big moments. They bring it out in me. I don’t know what it is about the pressure and having to do well. It makes me do well. I play better against the better teams,” she said.
UMaine head coach Josette Babineau said Borley “amazes” her.
“I watched her again today. She is so agile and quick. She gets to so many balls. Not too many get by her in practice. She is definitely impressive,” Babineau said.
Borley posted a 1.89 goals-against average and a .700 save percentage for the 15-7 Black Bears a year ago.
The Black Bears have some key players to replace, including Cassandra Mascarenhas, who was just the second player in league history to be named the Midfielder of the Year (2021) and Defender of the Year (2019) over the course of her career.
Also gone are 2020 Midfielder of the Year and 2021 all-conference second team selection Hana Davis (9 goals, 2 assists); Old Town’s Brooke Sulinski, whose 26 points (11 goals, 4 assists) tied her with Chloe Walton (10 goals, 6 assists) for second on the team; fullback Brittany Smith (1 goal, 10 assists); and forward Abby Webber (0 & 2) from Garland.
UMaine returns three All-AE first-team picks in Borley, forward Walton and back Poppy Lambert, who led the team in scoring with 17 goals and will bring a five-game goal-scoring streak into the season.
Walton just returned from representing Canada in the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England, where the Canadians went 3-2 and finished fifth to match their career-best. They only lost to gold medalist England (1-0) and bronze medalist India (3-2).
They have five more players who appeared in at least 19 games a year ago in Boothbay Harbor forward Sydney Meader (6 & 4), Pittsfield midfielder Madisyn Hartley (1 & 13) and fellow midfielder Tereza Holubcova (1 & 6), forward Julia Ross (3 & 1) and back Hannah Abbott (0 & 1) from Portland.
Two returnees who could play more prominent roles are back Kristjana Walker and Skowhegan midfielder Bhreagh Kennedy.
Avani Gill is a returning midfielder and Mallory Drayer is the back-up goalkeeper.
The seven newcomers include four Team Canada Under-18 players in back Julie Berk, midfielder Zoe Furber and forwards Mallory Mackesy and Taylor Stanford.
Olivia Geniti is a midfielder while Taylor Katsube and Kate Richardson are forwards.
Geniti and Mackesy joined the program for the second semester last year.
UMaine will open at UMass on Aug. 27 and will then face defending national champion Northwestern at UMass the next day. Those games were supposed to be in Orono but UMaine’s field repairs weren’t completed until the end of July, explained Babineau.
The three teams will play in Orono next season and then go to Evanston, Illinois, in 2024.
