Black Bears’ offense leading the way

ORONO, Maine (WABI) - The Black Bears’ offense has shown up in the clutch with Elle Vermilya’s game-tying goal against Holy Cross.

“I think we just all are very passionate. We’re determined to get the ball in the back of the net. I think that something with our team now that we’ve had previously is we finish to the end,” said Vermilya, junior midfielder.

“There were a couple confrontations in the box, and then at that moment in time when Elle put it on the frame of the goal, you just had this sense that it’s going in,” said Scott Atherley, head coach.

Maine has also scored five goals in wins over Le Moyne and Stonehill. Atherley is seeing the Black Bears’ finishing ability.

“I think there’s two reasons. One, I think there’s belief. We always talk about how the game is 90 minutes. Whether you’re down a goal at halftime, you’re up a goal, you don’t get points at halftime. So, our team really believes that it’s a 90-minute game, and they’re going to fight until the very end. Sometimes, you get a great outcome like Holy Cross, sometimes you don’t. I think the other thing is personnel. We’ve got really good, quality personnel, especially when we get numbers and create the chances that we have. It comes down to your personnel being able to finish those chances,” said Atherley.

Maine will look to continue its scoring ways into conference play.

“I think we started off great. I think that honestly, there’s more to come. I think that we’ve been working a lot on how much better we can get throughout the season. I’m really excited with how we started out,” said Vermilya.

Next up is a Thursday afternoon match at Merrimack.

Thursday’s kickoff between the Black Bears and Warriors is at 4 p.m.

GoBlackBears.com has a live stream link here.

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