The University of Maine women’s soccer team didn’t get off to the start they had hoped for.

But they’ve more than made up for it lately.

The Black Bears are 7-1-1 in their last nine games entering Sunday’s noon America East game against defending champ Binghamton in Orono. They’ve outscored their opponents 24-5 during that stretch.

Maine is 9-4-1 overall, 4-0-1 in America East.

“We finally started to develop a rhythm in our play and a lot of it has to do with having our players in the right positions now,” said seventh-year head coach Scott Atherley, whose Bears have made two straight AE title game appearances.

“We used the early part of the season to figure out what system was best for the players we had. Now the players are really comfortable with how we’re playing and where we’ve got them playing.

“The second thing is we’re healthy,” added Atherley who noted that several players had nagging injuries.

The most significant lineup adjustment occurred when Atherley flip-flopped fullbacks Jordon Pekrul and Angela Clark. Junior Clark moved to outside back and sophomore Pekrul was switched inside where she patrols with 2002 America East Defensive Player of the Year Linda Consolante, a medical redshirt last year who has three goals this season. Sophomore Brittany Saisselin (1 goal, 2 assists) is the other outside back.

“That really was the key. It enabled us to use Angie’s speed outside and enable her and Brittany to get up into the attack,” Atherley said. “That has opened up a new dimension for us. And Jordan is a much better complement to Linda inside.”

In addition, Atherley said they also boast “two great goalkeepers” in sophomore Jasmine Phillips and senior Tanya Adorno. AE goals-against average leader Phillips has yet to allow a goal in her career (710 minutes, 57 seconds), including 530:57 this season.

Adorno has an 1.06 GAA this fall.

Up front, the Bears have featured tireless speedster Erin Corey (6 goals, 5 assists) of Winslow, Scarborough seniors Heather Hathorn (5 & 2), the school’s all-time leading scorer, and Maureen McHugh (2 & 2, 2 game-winners) and Ottawa sophomore Laura Harper (3 & 2).

In the midfield, 2004 America East Rookie of the Year Marie-Andree Canuel (9 & 3) has scored seven goals in her last three games and she has been well-complemented by junior Natalie Berry (1 & 4) of Saco and sophomore Marie-Michele Bouchard (0 & 3).

Bears join hurricane relief effort

Spurred on by a couple of senior players, the University of Maine football team recently raised $1,025 to aid with relief efforts in the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

“Myself and Kevin McMahan were just sitting on the couch in the locker room watching what was taking place and we just saw how terrible it was and the impact it was having on people’s lives down there,” explained Black Bears defensive back Alex Goyins of Berlin, N.J.

“We decided not to sit back, but to actually do something about it,” he added.

Goyins and McMahan headed up the effort, asking their teammates and members of the coaching staff to contribute $10 each toward the cause. The money was donated to the Red Cross’s hurricane relief fund.

“Everybody contributed,” Goyins said. “All the members of the coaching staff contributed, even some of the athletic training staff contributed, so we had some very successful fundraising efforts.”

While none of the UMaine players had family members directly affected by the storms, Goyins knew their help was needed.

“I just knew, and Kevin knew, that if it was our families involved, we would want everybody to do their part to help out,” Goyins said.

Gwozdecky recalls Walsh

Denver hockey coach George Gwozdecky nearly ended up as the late Shawn Walsh’s first assistant coach at the University of Maine in 1984.

Instead, he wound up succeeding Walsh, his close friend, as an assistant at Michigan State.

“I was his first major sales job,” quipped Gwozdecky, who had been the head coach at Wisconsin-River Falls. “After talking to him for half an hour, he made Maine sound unbelievable and told me I should think seriously about coming to Maine.”

But Michigan State coach Ron Mason convinced Gwozdecky that Michigan State was much further ahead than Maine in its quest for national prominence.

“Michigan State was on the verge of stepping into the national spotlight and Shawn took over a Maine program that was in the basement. It took him a while but Shawn turned Maine into a program that was as good as any in the country and better than most,” said Gwozdecky.

Gwozdecky, whose defending two-time national champion Pioneers are visiting Maine this weekend, came to Orono as the head coach of the triumphant West team (6-2) in the second annual Anah Temple Shrine East-West Senior All-Star hockey game in 1994.

He was the head coach at Miami-Ohio at the time. He took the Denver job the following season.

“That was my only pleasant memory of Alfond Arena,” joked Gwozdecky. “My other memories are miserable. Shawn invited me up my first or second year at Miami. I figured Shawn was being a nice guy. I was foolish enough or naive enough to come and they walloped us twice (11-4, 10-1 in 1991).”