KENTS HILL – University of Maine at Farmington sophomore Ayla Allen’s goal with 4:26 left in the game lifted the Beavers to an 8-7 ‘Senior Day’ win over Colby-Sawyer College, in a North Atlantic Conference women’s lacrosse match Saturday at the Kents Hill School’s Ted Alfond Field.
Farmington improved to 5-8 overall with the victory, 3-3 in the NAC, and puts the Beavers on course to host a NAC Tournament quarterfinal match for the second straight season. The Beavers will learn their initial post-season opponent when tournament pairings are announced at the conclusion of league play early next week.
Colby-Sawyer fell to 2-10 overall, 0-5 in conference play, with the loss. Their post-season hopes ride on the outcome of Tuesday’s game with Green Mountain College.
Twice UMF surged into the lead, only to see Colby-Sawyer rally to tie the game and even briefly take a lead late in the first half.
After the Chargers posted an early lead on Caitlyn Whearty’s goal 69 seconds into the game, the Beavers responded with scores by freshman Alaina Shorey, senior Beth Lebel, and Allen.
Colby-Sawyer answered with three goals of its own from three different players. Allyson Redden and Adrienne Bender scored to knot the game at 3-3 with 6:58 to play in the first half, and Sara Berry’s unassisted tally 28 seconds late gave the Chargers their second lead of the half.
That lead was short-lived, as Allen scored her second of the day just 61 seconds later on a free position shot, and the Beavers and the Chargers went into the intermission deadlocked at 4-4.
The Beavers grabbed a 7-4 lead over the first 10 minutes of the second half, with free position goals by sophomore Mara Balboni and freshman Jaclyn Langevin and a second goal by Langevin from Balboni with 20:51 showing on the clock.
Berry scored her second of the day for the Chargers exactly a minute after Langevin’s second goal, pulling Colby-Sawyer to within two at 7-5. Whearty netted an unassisted goal at the 19:00 mark, and tied the game at 7-7 with 10:34 to play after scoring off an assist from Berry.
The teams played for nearly six minutes with the score evened up at 7-7, before Allen notched the game winner.
Allen tallied three goals for the Beavers, while Langevin charted two goals. Whearty paced the Chargers with three goals, while Berry finished with two goals and one assist. Alyssia Janak and Nichole Danehy each had two assists for the Chargers, who outshot the Beavers, 31-24.
Senior Hannah Goodenow tallied 16 saves in the UMF win, while Kellie Lander stopped eight shots in the Colby-Sawyer goal.
