The University of Maine field hockey team is looking to bounce back from an uncharacteristic losing season last fall.
For the first time since 2012, the Black Bears finished under .500 in America East play with a 3-5 record.
The sixth-seeded Black Bears did upset third seed New Hampshire 3-2 in overtime in the league quarterfinals before being humbled by No. 2 Albany 8-1 in the semifinals.
Head coach Josette Babineau and assistants Michelle Simpson and Leslie Smith have brought in eight newcomers, including four transfers, to try to return to the top of America East.
UMaine had gone 26-3 in conference play in the four previous seasons and earned its first tournament championship and NCAA berth in 2021.
The transfers are Alexandra Sacker and Victoria Tinghitella from Kent State University (Ohio), Micalea Grajales from Quinnipiac (Conn.) and Maeve Fogarty from the University of Rochester in New York.
The incoming first-year players will be Europeans Floor Dijkhuizen from The Netherlands, Rozarie Mrazova from the Czech Republic and Connie Davies from Wales along with Canadian Emily Chisholm.
Fogarty, Chisholm and Dijkhuizen are forwards; Grajales is a midfielder; Davies, Sacker and Tinghitella are backs and Mrazova is a goalkeeper.
Tinghitella can also play the midfield.
Babineau said it is a very talented group and has a lot of experience.
“We have a good combination of transfers and true first-year players,” said Babineau, who is beginning her 18th year in charge of the Black Bears. “We’ve addressed our needs which should make us competitive without having a total rebuild.
“We will have versatility and depth. We will be able to use different formations and lineups,” she said.
Sacker, who is from England, was tied for fourth in scoring at Kent State last fall with three goals and three assists for nine points in 19 games. She had two goals in 16 games in 2022 and was third in the Mid-American Conference in defensive saves with four. She started all 18 games in 2021.
She appeared in one game as a freshman.
Tinghitella, who is from Argentina, had three assists in 19 games for Kent State after notching four in 18 games the previous season. She also appeared in 18 games her sophomore year after playing in 14 as a freshman and collecting a goal.
Grajales is from Uruguay and produced five goals and seven assists in 51 career games at Quinnipiac. She had two goals in 17 games this past fall and two goals and five assists in 19 games in 2022.
Fogarty, who is from St. Louis, Mo., was a first team All-American for Division III Rochester and was also the Liberty League Player of the Year and the Region III Player of the Year.
She led the Yellowjackets in scoring with 13 goals and seven assists for 33 points in 21 games. She had eight goals and 10 assists in 23 games in 2022.
Babineau said she expects her transfers to make an immediate impact, whether it be in a starting role or getting significant minutes off the bench.
“That will also help our depth. With our speed of play, it will require us to use a lot of players,” said Babineau who also noted that it will be beneficial having players with extensive college field hockey experience including three at the Division I level.
The other four newcomers could also be impactful.
Chisholm is from Burlington, Ontario and played for Team Canada in the 2023 Junior World Cup in Chile. She is Assumption Catholic Secondary School’s three-time Most Valuable Player and all-time leading scorer.
Davies has played for the Welsh national team in various age groups. Her club team, the Swansea Hockey Club, won the Under 18s National Cup in 2024.
Dijkhuizen plays on a club team in The Netherlands that competed in the second highest level in Dutch field hockey and she played on a team that finished second in the National 3 versus 3 tournament.
Mrazova is a graduate of the University of J.E. Purkyne in the Czech Republic and will have two years of eligibility. She will complement Jayde Temby, who appeared in 13 games as a freshman last fall while sharing the goaltending with fifth-year player Mallory Drayer, who has departed.
Drayer backed up former America East Goaltender of the Year Mia Borley for several years.
Mrazova has played for various age-group Czech Republic national teams and has played in four Eurohockey outdoor championships and three indoor Eurohockey championships.
Babineau said Mrazova has a different playing style than Temby which could be beneficial.
The inexperienced Drayer and Temby combined for a .650 save percentage a year ago and only five teams among the 77 Division I programs had a worse save percentage.
UMaine lost All-AE second team choice and team leading scorer Mallory Mackesy (12 goals, 8 assists), who transferred to Central Michigan, and No. 2 point producer Tereza Holubcova (5 & 7) to graduation.
UMaine averaged 1.8 goals per game last season which was 51st in the country.
They also lost two of their three starting backs in Hannah Abbott and Kristjana Walker but 2022 second-team All-American Poppy Lambert will return for a fifth year.
UMaine will play an exhibition against Brown University on Aug. 25 in Durham, N.H. before opening the season in Evanston, Ill. against host Northwestern on Aug. 30.
Northwestern won the NCAA Division I title in 2021 and was the runner-up to North Carolina the past two seasons.
Northwestern beat UMaine 3-0 in Orono last fall.
