BIDDEFORD — The University of New England women’s soccer team didn’t lose very often this season, as the Nor’easters were bested just twice during Commonwealth Coast Conference play and three times overall.
One of those defeats came at the hands of conference foe Gordon College in Biddeford on Sept. 20.
The nine-game conference schedule doesn’t allow for teams to play each other twice during the regular season. But luckily for fourth-ranked UNE, a CCC quarterfinal matchup on Saturday against the No. 5 Fighting Scots presents the Nor’easters with a rare opportunity at retribution.
“We don’t believe that that was one of our best performances. It’s great to have another opportunity to play them,” said UNE head coach Heather Davis. “We’ve grown a lot, since that game was quite a while ago. We’re excited about the rematch.”
The regular-season matchup came in just the sixth game of the season for UNE and it ended the Nor’easters’ five-game winning streak to open the season.
UNE out-shot the Scots in that game, 15-9, but Davis said that stat made it look like her team had more scoring chances than it really did.
“I think one of the things, the shot count being as it was, the chances that we were creating, there weren’t enough dangerous chances,” said Davis. “A shot isn’t always a dangerous opportunity.”
Gordon won the regular-season matchup 2-0 in what was the first and only time UNE had been shut out until the final week of the season. The Nor’easters closed out their regular season with consecutive shutouts against top-seeded Roger Williams and Curry, which received a 19-save effort from its goalie.
Despite not scoring a goal for two straight games heading into the playoffs, Davis said she likes what she’s seen from her offense as of late.
“We have done a much better job over the course of the season of creating quality chances, and we’ll look to do that more against Gordon than we did,” she said.
Scoring is the only real concern for Davis, as she said her defense and midfield play have both been strong ”“ as well as sophomore goalie Brielle Robinson, who Davis said has been “a real rock” in net ”“ and just wants to see her team’s play in the final third do the same.
“It continues to be an area of focus for us, to make sure that we are creating those quality chances. Not just shots, but actual quality opportunities,” said Davis. “Making sure we do that on Saturday will be an absolute key for us to get a good result.
“I’m really quite pleased with the way we’re playing moving into playoffs, and just excited for the matchup.”
Game time for Saturday is scheduled for noon at Barbara J. Hazard Field on the UNE campus in Biddeford.
— Staff Writer Wil Kramlich can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 323 or sports@journaltribune.com. Follow him on Twitter @WilTalkSports.
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