Randolph Center, VT - In the first of five upcoming road games, the Mustangs loaded up the buses and headed to Vermont for their Yankee Small College Conference matchup with Vermont State University-Randolph (formerly Vermont Technical College). Knowing the Knights are in a rebuilding phase and having been there themselves, Central Maine intended to use this game to work on formations and further develop their new additions to this years roster. Using their normal starting rotation in a formation they have not played since the first week of the season the Mustangs put immediate pressure on the Knights net.
In the fourth minute, a pass into the box by Emma Knowles (Manchester, ME), playing on the field in this game instead of the net, went off a Vermont defender and into the net for an own goal to put Central Maine up 1-0. Only a couple of minutes later, Knowles would do the same but this time finding the feet of Lakyn Hink (Porter, ME) who drove it home to give the Mustangs a quick 2-0 lead less than five minutes into the game. Central Maine would dominate possession, using different combinations of starters and subs to help train them up, and nineteen minutes in, Mya Sirois (Monmouth, ME) put the Mustangs up 3-0 off a pass by Natalie Tracy (Oakland, ME). With ten minutes to go in the half a handball in the box by the Knights led to a penalty kick by Madisyn Turcotte (Auburn, ME) putting the Mustangs up 4-0, a lead that they would carry into the halftime break.
The second half began with the Mustangs using a different formation and slightly different lineup and eighteen minutes in, Lexie Finn (Wales, ME) increased the Central Maine lead off a pass by Sirois to make it 5-0. Seven minutes later Hink would win the ball off a defender and take it to goal to notch her second of the game, with the 7th and final goal coming a minute later when freshman Madison Valentine (Minot, ME) took a Madison Drew (Sabattus, ME) pass to net to score her first collegiate goal. Central Maine would sit on the 7-0 lead and instead focus on keeping the clean sheet for goalkeeper Ava Simpson (Lewiston, ME). Simpson would finish having to make only one save in the shutout win while Knights keeper Arna Amundadottir had 8 saves off 15 shots on goal in the 7-0 loss. The Mustangs finished with 32 total shots to the Knights 1.
Central Maine is back in action on Wednesday, September 27th in South Portland to take on their in-state rival, Southern Maine Community College, in the first of their two regular season matchups for the 2023 season. Kickoff is 4pm.
