UMF sports weekend results: Rugby, cross country, field hockey, men’s soccer

UMF, at right, wins the ball in a lineout during a rugby match Saturday on Prescott Field in Farmington, as Maine Maritime Academy forwards look on.

Men's rugby: UMF 56, MMA 0

FARMINGTON - On Saturday, under bright blue skies and before a large and enthusiastic home crowd, the University of Maine at Farmington's men's rugby team began its fall season with a convincing 56-0 win against Maine Maritime Academy.

UMF ran in 10 tries, and hard tackling by a defense led by fullback Ethan Gilbert kept the visitors out of its try zone the entire match.

In the backline, UMF debutants Tim Gingras and Dan Kane marked their introductions to rugby with exceptional try scoring runs, and the UMF forwards were led by the hard-working trio of Marco Servello, Matt Bigelow and Joe Foy.

With more difficult matches to come against experienced teams from Bowdoin, Colby and UMO, the UMF ruggers know the road will get more difficult from here, but if their first match is any indicator, they will be ready for the challenge. - By Woody Hanstein

Wynne, Fortin lead Beavers to third at UMF Invitational

FARMINGTON – University of Maine at Farmington freshman Josh Wynne (Saco, Maine/Thornton Academy) placed fourth while junior Jackson Fortin (Jefferson, Maine/Erskine Academy) was fifth as the Beavers finished third out of five teams at the UMF Cross Country Invitational, held Saturday afternoon at the Mt. Blue High School course.

Wynne posted a time of 30:39 on the 8000m course, while Fortin was right behind with a time of 30:58.

Junior Jamie Williams (Waterville, Maine/Waterville) was 20th with a time of 34:04 and was third among UMF finishers, with freshman Abdikadir Hassan (Lewiston, Maine/Lewiston) placing 22nd after posting a time of 34:06.

Kevin Lind (Augusta, Maine/Cony) was 29th after finishing in 35:38, while freshman Nick Bourget (Auburn, Maine/Edward Little) was 32nd in a time of 36:14.

The Beavers finished with 74 points, trailing second-place Maine Maritime by 12 points. Colby-Sawyer College ran away with the team title, finishing with just 10 points. Thomas College (80 points) and Husson University (111 points) rounded out the field.

Colby-Sawyer finished 1-2-3 in the meet, led by sophomore Hayden Brunnell who posted a winning time of 27:36. That time was two minutes, 33 seconds better than the second-place finisher in the event, Colby-Sawyer sophomore Bobby Hoffman, who finished in 30:09. The Chargers’ Jonathan Murray was third with a time of 30:32.

UMF’s next meet will be Saturday, Sept. 22, when the Beavers travel to Johnson, Vt., to compete at the Johnson State College Invitational. - By Pete Lefresne

Balboni scores twice to lead UMF field hockey past Rivier, 5-0

FARMINGTON – Freshman forward Mara Balboni (Oakland, Maine/Messalonskee) scored her first collegiate goals while three other Beavers added single markers to lead the University of Maine at Farmington to a 5-0 North Atlantic Conference field hockey win over Rivier University, Saturday afternoon at Prescott Field.

Balboni got UMF (1-2) on the board with the game winner at the 11:21 mark of the first half, tipping in a pass from Chelsea Morley (York, Maine/York). Kaitlyn Bullen (New Sharon, Maine/Mt. Blue) logged her first goal of the season with 6:26 showing on the first half clock when she finished a cross from Kashley Weymouth (Pittston, Maine/Gardiner Area).

Weymouth added UMF’s final goal of the first half with 1:15 remaining, picking a pass from Annie Agnew (Guilford, Maine/Piscataquis Community) out of traffic in front of the Rivier goal and finding the back of the Raiders’ cage.

Senior Lily Barry (Hermon, Maine/Hermon) brought her team-high scoring total up to four goals, beating Rivier goalie Colleen Albert just 1:40 into the second half. Morley was credited with an assist on the score. Balboni closed out the scoring with just 5:11 left in the game, weaving around a pair of Rivier defenders for an unassisted goal.

UMF outshot Rivier (1-5) by a 35-1 margin, with Albert and Rivier backup goalie Makenzie Flagg combining for 15 saves for the Raiders. Christina Demmons was credited with a defensive save.

UMF’s Curran Brierley (East Hampton, N.Y./East Hampton) got the start in the cage for the Beavers, and played the entire first half. Felisha Taylor (Chelsea, Maine/Cony) worked all 35 minutes of the second half. Neither UMF goalie was forced to make a save, however junior defender Renee DesPres (Skowhegan, Maine/Skowhegan) made a sensational save on a shot by Rivier’s Ashley Ruocco with just over a minute left in the game to preserve the Beavers’ shutout win.

UMF returns to action on Sunday, Sept. 16, when the Beavers travel to Waterville, Maine, to face Colby College at 1 p.m. Rivier is idle until Wednesday, Sept. 19, when the Raiders play at Lasell College at 4 p.m. in a North Atlantic Conference match. - By Pete Lefresne

Bowdoin men's soccer outshoots, outscores UMF, 6-0

BRUNSWICK - The Bowdoin College men's soccer team scored four first-half goals and cruised to a 6-0 non-conference win over the University of Maine at Farmington on Saturday afternoon.

The Polar Bears (2-1-0) held a decisive 43-2 advantage in shots over the Beavers (1-3-0) an got goals from five different players in the victory.

Eddie Jones got Bowdoin started just moments into the game, receiving a beautiful over-the-top pass from Andrew Jones and putting home his own rebound in the third minute. Hunter Clark doubled Bowdoin's lead in the 25th with a hard shot from the 18 and Zach Danssaert followed a minute later by finishing off a cross from Ben Brewster. Thomas Henshall rounded out the first half onslaught by collecting a mis-played ball by a UMF defender and knocking home a breakaway tally in the final minute to give the hosts a 4-0 lead at the break.

Michael Gale scored twice in the second half, just two minutes apart, both off assists from Ben Citrin in the 61st and 63rd minute to close out the scoring.

Chris Roberts made 11 saves in the first half for Farmington before giving way to Paul Dupre, who stopped nine in the second half. Bowdoin's Will Wise, Eric Edelman and Kyle Gurtowski all saw time in net for the Polar Bears without needing to make a save.

Both teams will return to action on Sunday, with the Polar Bears traveling to play at 10th-ranked Babson at 2 p.m. The Beavers will play at Maine Maritime at noon. - Pete Lefresne