UMaine-Farmington freshman midfielder Gracien Mukwa, who was named the North Atlantic Conference Rookie of the Year, will be one of the many returners next season, after falling just short of winning the NAC title. Contributed photo/University of Maine at Farmington Athletics

The University of Maine at Farmington men’s soccer team may still be recovering from last weekend’s loss to SUNY Polytechnic Institute in the North Atlantic Conference championship game, which was decided in penalty kicks. The Beavers were playing in their first NAC title game since joining the conference in 2003.

UMF (11-4-2) has plenty to look forward to next season.

UMF had five seniors on its roster this fall, three of which are starters: midfielder James Pelletier, goalkeeper  Jonah Sautter and defender Silas Mohlar. Backup goalies Bradley Neal and Josh Castonguay are also seniors. Sautter was named an NAC first team all-conference member.

The NCAA granted an additional year of eligibility for student-athletes whose sports were halted because of the coronavirus pandemic. Sautter, Mohlar, Neal and Castonguay could all return next season.

“It’s really exciting,” Hart said. “We have a lot of guys that are going to be staying another year, too, because of what happened last year. Those could be seniors that we have this year as well.”

Whether all, or none, return, the Beavers are still loaded with weapons among their underclassmen. Freshman midfielder Gracien Mukwa was named the NAC Rookie of the Year after leading UMF with eight goals and six assists. He was also named as an NAC first team all-conference. Forward Yusuf Mohamed, who finished with seven goals, is a junior, as is forward Cade McHugh, who finished with five goals.

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Hart is also excited about the youngsters on the roster.

“The last two years, recruiting for us has been huge,” Hart said. “We’ve brought some guys that can come in right away and contribute. I think, especially in the position that we’re in now, we can just do that year to year. We just have a very competitive environment on our team. The future is very exciting… We definitely have the guys in the locker room right now to build a program.”

 

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UMF women’s soccer player McKenna Brodeur enjoyed a standout season. A Messalonskee graduate, Brodeur was named the NAC Player of the Year after leading the Beavers with 14 goals and eight assists.

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A forward, Brodeur ends her UMF soccer career with 66 goals, 34 assists and 166 points. Brodeur’s best season came in 2018-2019 when, as a sophomore, she scored 22 goals and had eight assists. UMF would go on that season to beat Thomas College in the NAC title game, the first conference title for the program since 2003.

After fall and winter sports were canceled last season in the NAC, Brodeur knew she’d be coming back for another year.

Messalonskee graduate McKenna Brodeur returned for a final season with the UMaine-Farmington women’s soccer team, leading the Beavers with 14 goals and eight assists. She was named the North Atlantic Conference Player of the Year. Contributed photo/University of Maine at Farmington Athletics

“Some (seniors) don’t have the possibility of coming back, and my parents do support me if I want to take an extra semester and play next year, which is kind of what I want to do,” Brodeur said last year. “I don’t want it to finish it like this, I’ve been playing since I was 3.”

Brodeur isn’t finished with her athletic career just yet. A multi-sport athlete at UMF, Brodeur is also a forward and leading scorer on the women’s basketball team. Through two games this season for the Beavers (2-0), Brodeur is averaging 10 points per game.

This season, UMF finished 7-11-0, falling to Husson in the NAC East Division quarterfinal. After starting the season  1-8-0 in their first nine games, the Beavers went 6-3-0 in October. They finished 5-3-0 against conference competition during the regular season. The turnaround helped head coach Molly Wilkie earn the NAC Coach of the Year award. UMF defender Elena Guarino was also awarded first-team all-NAC honors.

 

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Multiple soccer players from the Thomas College men’s soccer team received NAC first-team honors.

For the men, forward Zenawi Bowen, midfielder Princiel Kunieki and defender Hayden Elwell were named to the first team. A senior, Kunieki scored five goals and had six assists. Elwell, a graduate student and Maranacook alum, had a goal and two points this season for Thomas. Bowen, a senior, led the Terriers with eight goals.

Thomas finished 10-5-0. The Terriers fell 3-1 to UMF in the NAC championship game on Oct. 30.

 

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One Colby College soccer player netted a first-team all-New England Small College Athletic Conference honor: Ethan Franco.

A sophomore and member of the men’s soccer team,  Franco scored eight goals for the Mules this season. He also won the conference’s Rookie of the Year award. Sophomores were considered for the award this season, as there were no sports in the NESCAC last fall.

Colby finished the season with a 7-8-2 record.

 

Dave Dyer — 621-5640

ddyer@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @Dave_Dyer

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