Page 20 - The Bell Tower - Summer/Fall 2015

Bengals in Action
Women’s 2014 USCAA National Soccer Champions
The University of Maine Fort Kent women’s soccer team has suc- cessfully defended their USCAA National Championship by defeat- ing third seed and arch rival, Daemen College.
The two teams have developed a strong rivalry over the past few seasons, meeting in each of the last three USCAA Championships. This is the fourth cham- pionship in the last five seasons for the Bengals, who have officially made their mark in USCAA history. UMFK is the first team to win four national titles in women’s soccer.
In this latest game, the first half was
a back and forth battle with both teams defense at full strength. Neither team real- ly had any great chances as the players kept
the ball in the middle third of the field. UMFK’s best chance came in the 35th
minute after a Brianna Mills corner kick came to USCAA National Player of the
Year Katherine Ferland, who headed the ball down, but Daemen keeper Kathryn Haessner made a successful save. Each team had just two shots on goal in the first half.
In the second half, UMFK controlled play for almost the entire period and were finally able to break through in the 73rd minute after Brianna Mills connected on a free kick from about 38 yards out. It was by far the deepest free kick of the season as Mills rocketed just under the post past the Daemen keeper.
UMFK continued to dominate play, and the Wildcats were unable to put more pressure on the Bengal defense. It was then Ferland who put the game away as
Marie-Laurence Montagne took advantage of a missed clearance and passed the ball to Ferland who put the ball on her left foot and sneaked it past the diving keeper. UMFK keeper Michelle Delgadillo saved her best performances of the season in the tournament as she pitched a shutout in all three matches during the national tournament and ends the season with six consecutive shutouts.
The lone senior for the Bengals, Ariane Lebarge-Pelletier, leaves UMFK as the win- ningest player in soccer history with three national championships in four seasons. Next year’s class will have a chance to match her record as they look to go back- to-back-to-back. Coach Lucas Levesque has now collected his fourth national champi- onship.
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