UMFK collects crown Bengals tip rival UMM in snow

FORT KENT – Donatas Sumyla, stationed at the back post, one-timed Rob Rochester’s skim header from the front post off a Derrick Cooper corner kick into the goal, lifting the UMaine-Fort Kent Bengals by UMaine-Machias 1-0 Saturday for their second straight Sunrise Conference championship.

The winning goal came with 1:27 remaining in the first half.

UMaine-Fort Kent, now 12-3-2, advances to the NAIA Region IX Tournament in Columbus, Ohio, against host Dominican College on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m.

UMaine-Machias finishes its season at 10-5-1.

It was the second consecutive year the two teams had played for the league title.

Nick Thibodeau made seven saves for the Bengals, while Jack Brunino came up with four saves for the Clippers.

The game was played even after the area received several inches of snow Friday night. In fact, UMM’s team van was involved in an accident on its trip to Fort Kent on Friday night.

UMFK assistant coach Dave Minzy explained UMFK’s facilities crew and some staff members, using a snowplow truck, a snowblower and push scoops, cleared six to seven inches of snow off the field on Saturday morning.

The crew needed about 31/2 hours to clear away the snow and put down orange lines. The game started only a half-hour late, at 12:30 p.m.

However, field conditions deteriorated quickly.

“The field was really nice,” Minzy said. “They had it right down to the green grass and the lines. They blew the whistle to put the ball in play and it started snowing.”

Minzy said conditions were cold and muddy and that snow again covered the field by halftime.

“By halftime, you couldn’t see any of the lines,” Minzy said. “If there were any infractions, they had to go up and try to scrape enough snow away to see where the line would be.”