FARMINGTON — The only thing louder than the wind Wednesday was the sound of the University of Maine at Farmington’s sticks slapping the ball up and down the field.
Whipping winds carried off the muggy heat and the Beavers got carried away and drubbed the University of Southern Maine, 4-0.
The Beavers dominated both halves and spent most the game in front of the Huskies’ net.
“I think we came out and set the tone early in that game, played hard and I think that got them on their heals,” UMF coach Cyndi Pratt. “The speed of our play was the difference for us today.
“They are a good team. I think they are very competitive and I think the sport of field hockey can go either way. I think they are certainly good at being competitive in their conference and they have gotten off to a good conference start. I think they are a very good team and will always be a good opponent for us.”
UMF didn’t take long to find a way around USM goalie Amanda Kasbohm (12 saves) and punched in two unassisted goals.
Carly Raymond and teammate Emma Spahr each tucked in a goal. And when USM tried to strike back — and the Huskies certainly had several opportunities, it was UMF goalie Patty Smith who turned away USM (3-3), making two kick saves to frustrate the Huskies. She made three in all.
Just to be on the safe side, the Beavers put another point on the board when Nickyia Lovely scored on a Lauren Watson assist to give a UMF a comfortable 3-0 lead heading into halftime
The weather turned cold, but the undefeated Beavers (4-0) were just getting warmed up in the second half.
UMF’s offense continued to frustrate the Huskies.
The Beavers constant attack eventually led to Raymond’s second goal, with the assist going to Andrea Stemm with 22:24 left in the game.
“Carly Raymond had a great game,” Pratt said. “I think that she has had a good start to the season, but today was by far her best game, and I think she took it right at the goalie.
For the remainder of the game, UMF harassed USM. The Beavers outshot the Huskies, 19-6 and held the advantage in penalty corners, 7-4.
But USM coach Bonny Brown Denico believed playing on grass as opposed to USM’s home turf made a difference in Wednesday’s game.
“They played better than we did,” Brown Denico said. “They are used to the grass. We have turf. I thought this is the worst game we played all year. Just not used to the field surface.
“We just came off a three-game win streak, three games in four days, which we played tremendous, and I don’t know if we are tired or expecting things to happen and not working for it.”
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