ORONO – There was a time not too long ago when University of Maine football coach Jack Cosgrove dreaded taking his team to play in Portland.

And while it’s still not as enticing as a home game on Morse Field, the Black Bears’ 10th-year boss is looking forward to unveiling his 2002 squad Saturday with a 6 p.m. season opener at Fitzpatrick Stadium against Central Connecticut.

The formerly sub-par field conditions, poor lighting and time-worn bleachers are gone – replaced by beautiful artificial FieldTurf, better lights and revamped seating. Cosgrove is hoping it will be a fitting backdrop as UMaine begins its quest for an NCAA playoff berth.

“We’re excited to go down there,” Cosgrove said. “We’re spoiled a little bit by Alfond Stadium and Morse Field, plus the fact that we’ve got eight straight wins there, but we’ve been successful the last couple times in Portland.”

The Bears won at Fitzpatrick in 2000 and 1998, after having dropped the previous three contests there. UMaine is 4-3 in Portland since 1988.

Paul Bubb, UMaine’s interim athletics director, said the Portland game is a concession to the university’s alumni and fans in the southern part of the state.

“One of the biggest reasons we do play down there is because of the large alumni population that’s in that part of the state,” Bubb said.

There is another key consideration, one which he hopes will be realized through staging this and other athletic events in Maine’s largest city.

“We’re hoping to whet people’s appetites and that they realize a drive from Portland to Orono [for a game] is not a big deal,” he added. “We want to encourage them to come up here [to Orono].”

The trip does present logistical and financial challenges for the entire UMaine contingent, most of which will travel to Portland Friday to prepare for the game. Bubb said UMaine administrators, game management personnel, ticket office workers and media relations staff – in addition to the players, coaches and training staff – all are making the trip and need hotel accommodations and meals.

Bubb said the facility rental is reasonable, but did not have the exact figures available.

“It does cost us a little bit to take the show on the road down there, so to speak, but I think it’s a good opportunity,” said Bubb, who pointed out UMaine likely wouldn’t have scheduled a home game in Orono this weekend because most students would not yet be on campus.

UMaine has promoted the game on a limited basis in Greater Portland, in addition to selling tickets at the Cumberland County Civic Center. Cosgrove also sent out a letter to high school coaches encouraging them bring their teams.

Cosgrove said regardless of the situation, it is an “away” game.

“We are in our state and, therefore, our fans are going to be there,” Cosgrove said, “they’ll just be from a different part of the state. It’s something I hope is received very well down there.”

The countdown has begun

UMaine football fans who want to know exactly how much time remains before the opening kickoff of the 2002 season can find out by logging on to goblackbears.com, the official Web site of Black Bear athletics.

On the site is a “Countdown to Kickoff” clock that lists the days, hours, minutes and seconds left before Saturday’s 6 p.m. kickoff at Fitzpatrick Stadium in Portland.

The site also features categorized information about all UMaine sports, including all of the university’s athletic press releases.

UM field hockey team picked 3rd

The University of Maine women’s field hockey team, which qualified for the America East Tournament for the first time since 1997 a year ago, has been picked to finish third in the conference by the league’s coaches.

The Bears return nine of their top 10 scorers off last year’s 10-8 team along with workhorse goalie Jaye Lance.

Maine senior midfielder Jen Johnstone was the conference’s leading scorer last year with 11 goals and five assists for 27 points.

Northeastern, which has won seven America East conference titles in 12 years including last season, was picked to repeat and Boston University was chosen second.

After Maine came New Hampshire, Vermont and Albany.