University of Maine-Fort Kent coach Bill Ashby was understandably elated following Sunday’s 1-0 men’s soccer win over 2007 NCAA Division III national champion Middlebury College (Vt.).
Middlebury was 35-4-6 in its previous 45 games entering the game and was ranked ninth in the NCAA Division III poll.
UMFK has now won 41 straight regular-season games. The Bengals are 4-0 this season and climbed to fifth in the NAIA national poll, their highest-ever ranking.
“It was a great win,” said Ashby. “This was the biggest win we’ve ever had in New England. We played very well. We were well organized defensively. They were a great team. They were well organized, and their coach [Dave Saward] is one of the top coaches in the country.”
“It was a fun experience to go in there and play a quality side. And there was a playoff atmosphere,” added Ashby.
He said midfielder Walford Stewart came off the bench and proved to be a “game-changer” for them.
“He gave us legs to go over the top and gain the advantage,” said Ashby who also credited center back Damion Stone with playing “the best game of his career.”
Ashby said the Bengals benefited from the fact Middlebury had played the previous day, beating Tufts 1-0 in a NESCAC game, and that they began practice in mid-August while Middlebury didn’t start until September.
“Our fitness was better [because we started earlier],” said Ashby, whose Bengals outshot Middlebury 13-3 and received the game-winning goal from Jermaine West in the 74th minute.
Saward praised the Bengals.
“They’re a very good team. They’re excellent. They have good players all over the field and they work hard. They play with a good competitive edge,” said Saward. “It was a very good game. It was well played. It was fun.”
UM-Fort Kent travels to Bangor to play Berry College (Ga.) at Husson’s Boucher Field on Friday at 3 p.m.
Husson will play Berry on Saturday at 1 p.m.
UMPI names hall inductees
Tim Olore, David Hamel and Stephanie (Gagnon) Brewer will be honored this weekend when they are inducted into the University of Maine at Presque Isle Owls’ Athletic Hall of Fame.
The trio of former UMPI greats will be recognized during ceremonies at the UMPI Campus Center. A reception begins at 5 p.m., followed by dinner at 5:30 and the inductions.
To reserve tickets to the event ($15 per person), call 768-9506 or e-mail Connie Levesque at connie.levesque@umpi.edu. Tickets also may be purchased at the door.
Olore, a former Presque Isle High School standout, was a three-year starter on the UMPI baseball team and a two-year basketball starter. He pitched and played first base and center field.
Olore captained the Owls in 1982, when he earned NAIA All-New England First Team recognition. He earned a B.A. in behavioral science from UMPI, then played semipro baseball from 1982-84 with the Woodstock Shiretowners.
He has been a fixture in Aroostook County as Presque Isle High School’s baseball coach for the last 23 seasons. His teams have earned 362 victories during his tenure.
Olore has been employed by MSAD No. 1 as an eighth-grade social studies teacher since 1982. He also coaches eighth grade boys basketball at Skyway Middle School.
Hamel excelled in soccer and baseball at UMPI, starting for four years in both sports. He was the Owls’ leading soccer scorer for three seasons, captaining the team his last two years. As a junior, he was an all-conference first-team choice and an All-New England second-team pick.
Hamel went on to earn spots on the all-conference, all-state, All-New England and All-Northeast Region first teams as a senior.
On the baseball diamond, Hamel was a three-year captain. As a senior, he led UMPI in hits, home runs and stolen bases on his way to a .497 average that helped him garner all-conference, first-team honors.
Hamel graduated from UMPI with a B.S. in social sciences and began his teaching career at Bangor High, where he served as the JV soccer coach and assistant indoor track coach. He then began a five-year stint teaching social studies at Hermon High, where he was the boys soccer and JV baseball coach for the Hawks.
He now works as the sports and recreation director and summer camp director for the Bangor YMCA.
Brewer was a four-year starter in soccer and a two-year softball star for the Owls. She also captained each team for two seasons. Brewer also played one year of basketball.
On the soccer pitch, Brewer was an NAIA all-league second-teamer and an NAIA All-Region selection as a senior. She was UMPI softball’s Most Inspirational Player her last two seasons and was an all-league pick in 2000.
Brewer graduated with a B.S. in fitness and wellness and became an aerobics and fitness instructor for two years. She was the varsity girls soccer and girls basketball coach at Easton in 2004-05 and was a middle school softball coach at Fort Fairfield for three years.
She earned a master’s in clinical exercise physiology from East Stroudsburg University in 2006 and is attending the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health pursuing a master’s in physician assistant studies.