BANGOR – The Husson University women’s soccer team needed a lift.
University of Maine-Fort Kent sophomore midfielder Marie-Pier Daze’s goal with 20:09 remaining in regulation stunned the Eagles and gave the Bengals a 2-1 lead.
Husson junior midfielder Amanda Gifford provided that boost as her goal off a short corner 8:28 later triggered a flurry of three goals in a span of 6:13 that carried the Eagles to a 4-2 triumph at Boucher Field.
Freshman midfielder Rebecca Jones scored her second game-winner of the season with 7:13 left before Michelle Manning added an insurance goal 1:45 later.
Husson improved to 4-3 while UMFK fell to 4-2.
“Amanda’s goal gave us a huge amount of momentum,” said Husson senior back and captain Caitlyn Butterfield.
Alex Laniewski took the corner kick and called for a short corner. She slid the ball back to Megan Clement, who crossed it to Gifford for a powerful uncontested header past helpless UMFK freshman goalkeeper Liz Morneault, who is filling in for her injured senior sister Mindy (concussion).
“[Clement] made a perfect service and I was wide open on the back side,” said Lee’s Gifford, whose goal was her first of the year.
“We weren’t paying attention. We didn’t even see them coming at us. We turned around and the ball was in the net,” said UMFK striker and leading scorer Whitney Sinclair, who tied the game 1-1 in the first half with her ninth goal of the season.
“They were getting set-up and we executed it perfectly,” said Clement. “They weren’t ready for it at all.”
“That goal gave me goosebumps. Once you see something like that, you really want to win the game,” said Hampden’s Manning.
Jones scored an opportunistic winner off a Katie McLaughlin feed. It was her third of the season.
Jones raced for the ball with two UMFK defenders and when the three converged, she was able to squeeze through them and break in alone on Morneault.
“[Morneault] was coming out so I knew I had to put the ball either side of her,” said Jones, who directed the ball around Morneault with the outside of her right foot.
“I came out and went down but I didn’t get it. She put it to my right,” said Morneault.
Manning iced it with her fourth goal of the season when she ran on to an Emily Zurcher cross and followed the ball into the net as it bounced off her body before she poked it home.
“We fell asleep there in the last 15 minutes,” said UMFK coach Lucas Levesque, whose Bengals were without four injured starters, three to injury and one to suspension. “They were able to rotate players in and, unfortunately, we didn’t have that luxury today.”
The speedy Laniewski opened the scoring just 3:31 into the game when a Clement pass sprung her into the open and she cleanly beat Morneault from 10 yards out for her fifth goal of the season.
Sinclair equalized with her ninth as she found some open space in the crowded penalty area and converted a pass from Victoria Dubois-Iredale.
Morneault robbed Clement later in the half with a tremendous reaction save as she flashed out her left hand to parry the ball around the post.
Husson outshot UMFK 18-5 in the first half and 33-8 for the game.
Daze gave UMFK a short-lived lead in the second half when she finished off a nice passing sequence involving Jenn Colpitts and Sinclair.
“We didn’t play our best game and Fort Kent played with great deal of emotion. But I feel real happy we gutted it out and got the win,” said Husson coach Keith Bosley.
Rozlyn Petersen made one save for Husson while Morneault finished with eight.