Box Score WATERVILLE, ME - The Thomas field hockey team could not net the tying goal in the second half and fell to the University of Maine at Farmington 2-1 in a North Atlantic Conference semifinal matchup this afternoon at Bernatchez Field.
The Terriers (7-10, 4-1 NAC) got on the board first when senior Brittany Premo got past several Beaver defenders and notched her ninth goal on the season and gave Thomas the 1-0 lead.
UMF (8-6, 3-2 NAC) responded four minutes later when Meghan Hughes took a pass from Chelsea Morley off of a penalty corner to tie the game up at one.
The Beavers then took the lead in the 32nd minute when Emmah Spahr was initially denied by Abbie Charrier but put in her own rebound to give UMF the 2-1 lead that would hold to the half.
UMF held a 7-3 shot advantage in the first half as well as a 6-3 penalty corner advantage. Both team had three shots on goal.
The second half was a back and forth battle that saw the Terriers outshoot the Beavers 6-3 along with holding the edge in penalty corners 5-3.
In the 61st minute of action, Thomas had a handful of scoring opportunities, but UMF goaltender Patricia Smith made four crucial saves in a one-minute span to keep the Terriers from tying up the game.
Smith finished with seven saves on eight shots faced, while Charrier posted three saves on five shots faced for Thomas. UMF held only a 10-9 shot advantage on the day, and a 9-8 advantage in penalty corners.
Thomas will close out their 2014 season with a record of 7-10 overall and a second-place finish in the NAC during the regular season with a record of 4-1. UMF will move on to play top-seed Husson in the NAC Championship game.
