Auburn, ME - The Central Maine Mustangs, coming off a stretch of three extremely difficult games with five players being sidelined with injuries, were glad to get three of them back for their annual showdown with UMaine Machias. Using a three-back, midfield driven formation, the Mustangs turned in a 26 shot offensive performance that saw both teams take the lead and then tie it up over the course of the game in an end to end fitness contest that lasted for 110 minutes through two overtime periods.
It took twenty minutes but the Mustangs would be the first to score when Samantha Belardo (Russell, MA), returning after missing the previous game with a quad injury, broke through the Clipper defense to score the first of her two goals, putting the Mustangs up 1-0 in front of a vocal home crowd. Machias countered less than a minute later when Elana Lancia beat the Mustangs midfield down the left side of the field to level the score at 1-1, which is where the half ended after a lot of end to end play.
Ten minutes into the second half, Morgan Doughty put the Clippers up 2-1 after breaking the Mustang defensive line. A missed Machias penalty kick midway through the second half kept Central Maine within striking distance and at the 73-minute mark, Belardo tied it up 2-2 with her second goal of the game.
Two ten minute overtimes saw both teams trading shots with excellent chances to win the game on both sides of the field but neither one could manage to pull it out and the game ended 2-2.
The Mustangs outshot the Clippers 26 to 24, Central Maine goalkeeper Skyler Henry (Waterford, CT) made 14 saves on 16 shots on goal, while Machias keeper Malyssa Kubik made 15 saves on 17 shots on goal.
The Mustangs head to New York this weekend for a pair of games against Albany College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences on Friday and their final YSCC game at Paul Smith's College on Saturday.