ORONO, Maine—Maine forward Laura Martel notched a hat trick to lead the host Black Bears (4-3-1, 1-0-0 AE) to a 7-0 victory over UMBC (0-7-1, 0-1-0 AE) Sunday afternoon at a wet Alumni Field in the America East Conference opener for both teams.
Maine got on the board early when midfielder Maddie Hill recorded an unassisted goal at the 12:20 mark as her shot from 30 yards out took an awkward bounce past UMBC sophomore goalie Mo Van Vlerah (Ijamsville, Md./Northwest). The Black Bears took a 2-0 lead less than six minutes later when Martel scored her first goal of the day on a cross from back Cristina Di Ielsi on the left side.
Martel gave Maine a 3-0 halftime advantage when she received a through ball from midfielder Kelsey Wilson, cut around her defender and beat Van Vlerah at 28:20.
Just 2:09 into the second half, Maine was awarded a corner kick, and Wilson found midfielder Stephanie Frenette-Blaise, whose shot from outside the box hit off Van Vlerah's hands and bounced into the goal.
Four minutes later, Martel found forward Veronique Fleury in the box, and she blasted a shot into the back of the net for Maine's fifth goal of the game.
In the 57th minute, Fleury crossed the ball into the box. The ball deflected off several UMBC defenders before Maine forward Carolyne Nellis headed it into the goal for a 6-0 lead.
The Black Bears closed out the scoring just over three minutes later when midfielder Alli Krous fed Martel, who got by her defender into the box and beat Van Vlerah to complete her hat trick.
Van Vlerah recorded seven saves for the Retrievers. Maine keeper Meagan Price-Leibenzeder made one save in 59:18, while Elizabeth Deletetsky stopped two shots in the final 30:42 between the pipes.
Maine outshot UMBC, 19-8, and held a 5-0 advantage on corner kicks.
"We are building and we have had great leadership and character from our seniors and upperclassmen," head coach Alyssa Radu said. "We are still fighting together and not allowing our results to affect our character. We played with pride and determination."
The Retrievers return to action on Tuesday, Sept. 29, when they host the Penn Quakers at 7 p.m. under the lights at UMBC Stadium.
