BALTIMORE—Maine forward Courtney Harnais found the back of the net just 31 seconds into the game and the visiting Black Bears (6-4-0, 2-1-0 AE) held on for a 1-0 victory over UMBC (2-10-1, 1-3-0 AE) in America East women's soccer action Thursday afternoon at UMBC Soccer Stadium.

Maine took possession of the ball shortly after kickoff and served the ball into the box to midfielder Nikki Misener, who passed it to Harnais in front of the net. Harnais, who was named her team's America East Player of the Game, the slipped the ball past UMBC freshman goalie Lauren Kadet (Oakville, Ontario/St. Thomas Aquinas) into the lower left corner.

The Black Bears made the 1-0 lead stand despite a pair of good scoring chances for the Retrievers later in the half. In the 16th minute, freshman midfielder Nicole Clark (Ellicott City, Md./Howard), UMBC's America East Player of the Game, was open in front of the net, but her shot went wide. Then with just over three minutes remaining in the period, senior midfielder Sandra Vacarino (Mantua, N.J./Clearview Regional) headed a corner kick toward the left post, but Maine keeper Meagan Price-Leibenzeder swatted the ball out of bounds.

Kadet made two saves for the Retrievers, while Price-Leibenzeder finished with three. The teams each took seven shots, while UMBC held a 6-0 advantage on corner kicks.

The Retrievers return to action on Sunday, when they host America East rival Stony Brook at 1 p.m. at UMBC Soccer Stadium.