Michaela Franey is at home everywhere on the field hockey pitch.

But in front of the goal is where she really stands out.

Franey, a former all-state player from York, is leading the University of New England field hockey team with 18 goals and nine assists following a six-goal game against Regis College on Saturday.

“I love it (in front of the net),” said Franey.

First-year coach Jane Hurt said she loves having Franey anywhere on the field. The Nor’easters, who are 8-4 and 5-1 in The Commonwealth Coast Conference, have a five-game winning streak, and Franey is a large part of that.

“When she plays well, the team plays well,” said Hurt, a former player and coach in England. “She has that kind of air on the pitch. She’s fit. She’s physical. She can last the game. And she’s not pushed off the ball.”

Franey started her college career at Ryder University in New Jersey, but returned to Maine and enrolled at UNE the following season. New Jersey wasn’t for her.

“We did all right my first year here. It was a hard transition for me, a different level of play,” said Franey.

“Last year we worked better as a team. But this year? I just feel like this clean slate has really helped.

“I’ve learned so much from our coach and we’ve connected as a team. We’ve connected passingwise. We just know where each other is going to be.”

The team is also now playing on artificial turf – the Big Blue Turf – as the school calls its new field.

“I’ve always felt like more of a turf player,” said Franey, who said the team’s new system that focuses on passing and stretching the field helps. “Coach doesn’t like you carrying the ball for long. It’s more of a passing game and not losing that energy, which is great.”

After a 4-3 overtime victory Tuesday over the University of Maine at Farmington, the Nor’easters have four games left in the regular season: Gordon, Colby, Nichols and Bridgewater State.

“I’m a very realistic coach, but I honestly feel that we’re getting stronger and stronger,” said Hurt. “This team has turned a corner and has started to play how I would say field hockey should be played. The ball does the work.”

BOWDOIN

Freshmen linebacker Griffin Cardew and freshman punter Grant White were honored by the New England Small College Athletic Conference following Bowdoin’s first win of the season on Saturday, 22-15 over Tufts.

Cardew had two interceptions, forced three pass breakups and had seven tackles, five solo.

White dropped three punts inside the Tufts’ 20 in the fourth quarter, including two inside the 6, to pin the Jumbos deep in their territory. He averaged 37.5 yards per kick and converted a fake punt into an 18-yard gain for a first down in the first half.

n Men’s tennis players Casey Grindon and Chris Lord had key wins at the Stony Brook University Invitational last weekend in New York to close the fall tennis season.

Lord won in B Flight singles over Grindon, who teamed with Alex Jacobs to win the B Flight doubles title.

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN MAINE

USM will honor 119 student-athletes who have been recognized as William B. Wise Scholar Athletes on Nov.14. Qualifications include a cumulative grade-point average of 3.00 for the fall and spring semesters and at least one used season of eligibility as a member of a varsity team or cheering squad. Twelve are four-year recipients.

n The women’s basketball team will host its annual alumni game on Oct. 31 at 1 p.m.

The team will also host its annual Huskies Shooting Clinic on Nov. 7 for girls in grades 3-10. The clinic runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The fee is $35 in advance and $45 on the day of the clinic.

ST. JOSEPH’S COLLEGE

The North Atlantic Conference named senior midfielder Courtney Rague of Old Orchard Beach field hockey player of the week. Rague was involved in three of the Monks’ goals in a 3-2 victory over UMaine-Farmington last Saturday, including the winner. She leads the Monks (8-3) with 20 points and eight assists through 11 games. She is tied for the team lead in goals with six.

n Freshman Kevin Richardson was named Great Northeast Athletic Conference golf rookie of the week after finishing sixth at the UNE Invitational last Thursday. He shot a 78.

Richardson, a two-time rookie of the week, has posted three sub-80 rounds this fall to lead the Monks.

n Runner Danielle Cusack of Portland was named GNAC women’s cross country rookie of the week for the sixth time this fall. The sophomore first-year runner helped lead the Monks to a second-place finish in the Runnin’ Monks Invitational on Oct. 9, placing fifth overall with a time of 21 minutes, 32 seconds in the 5-kilometer race.

n Midfielder Teddy Palmer of Scarborough was named men’s soccer rookie of the week by the GNAC after scoring the winning goal in a 1-0 victory over Johnson & Wales last Saturday. The goal was the first of his career.

Palmer has started all 14 games for the Monks (6-6-2).

UNIVERSITY OF MAINE

Junior cross country standout Corey Conner won the New England championships last Saturday at Franklin Park in Boston.

Conner ran the 5K course in 16:54 to lead the Black Bears to a fourth-place finish. There were 40 teams and 322 runners in the women’s race.

Riley Masters led the men’s team to a ninth-place finish out of 47 teams. He completed the 4.95-mile course in 24:41, seventh among 318 runners.

SOUTHERN MAINE CC

The baseball team won the NECA championship, knocking off Vermont Technical College 7-0 in the semifinals and Central Maine Community College 2-1 in the final.

• The men’s soccer team will host Eastern Maine Community College at 3:45 p.m. today in the semifinals of the Yankee Small College Conference tournament. If the Seawolves advance, they will host New Hampshire Technical Institute at 1:30 p.m. Oct. 16.

 

Staff Writer Jenn Menendez can be contacted at 791-6426 or at: jmenendez@pressherald.com

 

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