ORONO, Maine — They grew up in the shadow of the University of Maine.
And former high school All-Americans Ashley Robinson of Bangor and Kaitlin Saulter of Hermon are looking to have productive seasons for the Black Bears’ women’s soccer team and help the team claim its first America East tournament championship.
Robinson, a senior, and Saulter, a sophomore, will be wings in Maine’s 4-3-3 alignment.
Maine coach Scott Atherley said both are athletic and will be important players in Maine’s scheme.
“They are both best suited to play wide,” he said. “As Ashley has developed, her confidence has grown. And the more confidence she plays with, the more consistent she is. That allows her to take chances and that’s what we want her to do.
“In the attacking third, we want to her take defenders on and not worry about losing the ball,” he added.
Saulter has been “fantastic” so far and set up “a terrific goal” in a 1-0 exhibition win over Bryant Monday night, according to Atherley
“Last year she came in hoping [to earn playing time] and now she knows she can play at this level. Her confidence increased as she gained experience,” Atherley added.
Robinson scored a goal as a freshman and had two assists in 17 games a year ago. Saulter didn’t register a point last fall but played in 15 of Maine’s 18 games.
Both were prolific scorers in high school.
Robinson netted a Class A-leading 28 goals her senior year but has had to adapt to being more of a versatile role player instead of the focal point of the attack.
“It’s definitely different when you get to college, but I’m just happy when I’m on the field whether as a wing midfielder or up front. The four years have really gone by quickly and I want to cherish every moment this year and play every game like it’s my last,” Robinson said.
Saulter, who owns the career scoring record at Hermon with 75 goals and 32 assists, learned last year how to play with confidence.
“You can’t go in nervous. You have to go hard from the get-go. The speed of the game is very different from high school, and it’s more physical,” she said. “You have to get your shot off quicker and look for that open pass. You also have to adjust on defense. But I definitely feel I’ve improved. I feel more comfortable now.”
Robinson has set her focus on beating defenders one on one and getting her crosses into the box.
Both athletes are optimistic about the season, even though the team graduated three valuable players and has lost four other players prematurely in goalie Lauren Swant, twins Eve and Joanie L’Abbe and Marie-Pier Gougeon. Swant is injured, the L’Abbes transferred to medical schools in Quebec and Gougeon didn’t return.
Maine went 4-8-6 overall in 2014 and was 2-1-5 in America East play. The Bears held opponents to 21 goals but scored only 10.
They have 10 newcomers.
“It’s a really good class, and we have a special team. The new additions are playing very well,” Robinson said.
“We will definitely score more goals,” Saulter said. “We have a lot of creative people up front, we move the ball well and there are a lot of people who want to score.”
“I don’t know if our depth has ever been better,” said Atherley, who is in his 17th season as the head coach.
Maine will play all of its home games on the FieldTurf at Mahaney Diamond after splitting its eight games between Mahaney and its grass field (Alumni Field) in 2014. Seven of the eight other America East teams play on artificial turf fields, so it is advantageous for Maine to play on an artificial surface.
Maine opens its season at home against Fairfield University (Connecticut) at 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 21.
The Bears were selected fifth in the 2015 America East Preseason Poll released Thursday.
Defending America East champion New Hampshire was selected first in the poll, receiving seven first-place votes and 63 total points.
The Wildcats were followed by last season’s runners-up, Hartford, which tallied one first-place vote and 52 points. UMBC also received a first-place tally and 50 total votes in third.
Rounding out the eight-team league were Albany (39 points), Maine (38), Stony Brook (31), Binghamton (23), UMass Lowell (14) and Vermont (14).