There was no shortage of excitement in Orono on Thursday night as the University of Maine women’s soccer team unveiled its new turf facility.
The defending two-time America East tournament champion Black Bears welcomed conference rival Bryant University for their first game at the $27.3 million New Balance Track and Field and Soccer Complex.
The new soccer and track complex is part of a larger series of facilities upgrades at UMaine, including the $50 million in renovations wrapping up at the Alfond hockey arena.
The Harold Alfond Foundation has given $170 million to the university for athletic facilities upgrades. New Balance and individual supporters have added another $32 million raised so far, according to the university.
The soccer facility includes a state-of-the-art and FIFA-approved synthetic turf surface, improved lighting, new scoreboards and seating for 525 fans.
UMaine had its first practice on the field last Saturday.
The Black Bears had been playing their home games on the baseball field, Mahaney Diamond, since 2014.
“It’s unbelievable,” said UMaine head coach Scott Atherley, who is in his 27th season at the helm. “Everybody is still in disbelief that we walk out there and that’s our facility.
“It doesn’t seem real yet,” he added.
“It’s beautiful. We’re so excited,” said junior back Amanda Clauzel from Langley, British Columbia who transferred to UMaine from the University of Memphis a year ago.
The surface is a dramatic departure from Mahaney Diamond, which has a much harder and faster surface.
Clauzel said the new turf is “a lot easier on your body and your recovery. Your legs aren’t as sore now. It feels better when you’re running on it.”
Atherley pointed out that the blades of artificial grass are three-quarters of an inch high instead of a half-inch, which is what it is supposed to be.
“It’s new turf so as we get our first weather, they will add a little more sand and more rubber pellets to it,” explained Atherley.
The pace of the games won’t be as fast as they were on Mahaney Diamond because the surface has a lot more give to it, Atherley pointed out.
“The big thing about Mahaney is the ball bounces like crazy because it’s such a hard surface,” he said.
He added that the games will be “much more settled” because the ball won’t be bouncing like it did on the baseball field.
“And that suits how we play,” said Atherley, whose teams are possession-oriented.
It’s a lot easier for the Black Bears to try to knockdown, corral and gain possession of the ball
Atherley said his players did have to get their legs used to the new surface because it is slower and heavier than Mahaney’s surface.
The Black Bears’ game against Bryant is their first since conference-opening 1-0 win at Albany on Sept. 21. They had a bye last weekend.
Atherly said there are pros and cons to the bye.
“The pros are it has been a really hectic week, academically, so we didn’t have to travel or contend with having a game which was really helpful. And it gave us time to get acclimated to the field,” said Atherley, whose team had five practices before Thursday. “The negative is we played a great game at Albany so we wanted to keep playing with that momentum.”
UMaine took an 18-game home unbeaten streak against conference opponents, including playoffs, into Thursday’s game. The Black Bears were 11-0-7 dating back to a 1-0 loss to New Hampshire at Mahaney Diamond on Oct. 14, 2021.
UMaine entered the season with a 27-game unbeaten streak (17-0-10) at Mahaney Diamond vs. all opponents but the Black Bears have lost all three of their non-conference home games this fall to Rhode Island (2-0), Boston University (3-1) and Holy Cross (1-0).
