ORONO — Mia Borley stopped four of five attempts in a shootout, and the University of Maine won its first America East field hockey championship Sunday, beating Albany.
Julia Ross and Chloe Walton scored during the shootout for Maine (15-6) after the teams were deadlocked 1-1 through 60 minutes of regulation and two 10-minute overtimes.
Maine took the lead early in the second quarter when Poppy Lambert converted a penalty stroke. Albany (11-9) tied it in the third quarter on a goal by Charlotte Triggs.
The Black Bears earned an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament for the first time and will play a first-round match Wednesday at Miami (Ohio), the Mid-American Conference champion. The winner advances to face No. 3 seed Michigan on Friday.
MIDDLEBURY 4, BOWDOIN 3: Erin Nicholas scored her third goal of the game with 7:53 remaining, and the top-seeded Panthers (18-0) rallied from a 3-0 deficit to beat the third-seeded Polar Bears (14-4) in the New England Small College Athletic Conference championship game in Middlebury, Vermont.
Middlebury, which has won the last three NCAA Division III titles, earned NESCAC’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Bowdoin received an at-large bid and will host a first-round game Wednesday against Eastern Connecticut State.
The Polar Bears led 3-0 in the second quarter after three goals by Faith Jennings. Nicholas started the comeback late in the second quarter.
HUSSON 2, THOMAS 1: Amanda Frost scored 4:45 into overtime and the Eagles (9-7) won the New England Collegiate Conference championship with a victory over the Terriers (9-9) in Waterville.
Husson’s Phoebe Joy opened the scoring late in the first quarter. Britney Gregoire tied it early in the third.
Kimmie Goddard made 12 saves for Husson.
VOLLEYBALL
BOWDOIN 3, WESLEYAN 1: The top-seeded Polar Bears (22-4) outlasted the second-seeded Cardinals (17-6) in the fourth set, wrapping up a 25-13, 25-8, 22-25, 29-27 victory in Brunswick as they captured their fourth NESCAC championship.
Jaida Hodge-Adams recorded 14 kills, 24 digs and four blocks for Bowdoin. Sophia Pahl had 13 kills and eight aces, and Cori Gray finished with nine kills, 11 blocks and four aces.
Pairings for the NCAA Division III tournament will be announced Monday.
FOOTBALL
UMASS: Massachusetts fired coach Walt Bell after he went 2-23 over three seasons.
Athletic Director Ryan Bamford announced that defensive coordinator Tommy Restivo also had been relieved of his duties. Offensive line coach and run game coordinator Alex Miller was named interim coach for the final three games of the season against Maine, Army and New Mexico State.
UMass fell to 1-8 on Saturday, losing 35-22 to FCS school Rhode Island. The Minutemen host Maine on Saturday.
AP TOP 25: Cincinnati held on to the No. 2 ranking by just four points over No. 3 Alabama, and Oregon passed Ohio State to move up to No. 5.
Georgia is the unanimous No. 1 team for the fifth straight week.
Cincinnati received 1,440 points from the media panel after beating Tulsa 28-20, and Alabama had 1,336 following a 20-14 victory against LSU. Cincinnati has been ranked No. 2, best in school history, for four straight weeks.
Oklahoma stayed at No. 4, and Oregon moved up two spots to No. 5 after beating Washington, 26-16. The Ducks jumped Ohio State at No. 6, taking advantage of Michigan State’s first loss of the season.
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