The University of Maine-Presque Isle men’s soccer team qualified for the NCAA Division III Independent Northeast Regional Championship and the Owls will face Lincoln University (Pa.) on Nov. 5 at Mitchell College in New London, Conn.

The game will be at 11 a.m. and will be followed by a game between Mitchell and Newbury College (Mass.). The winners will play the next day at 1:30 following the 11 a.m. consolation game.

Alan Gordon, the 15th-year head coach of the Owls, explained that UMPI isn’t in a conference and is one of six independents in the Northeast.

Besides those four, St. Joseph’s of Standish and Green Mountain College (Vt.) are also in the region, but they didn’t qualify for the tourney.

Since teams in conferences have tournaments to establish who earns the automatic berths to the NCAA Tournament, the NCAA decided to allow independents to have their own tournaments.

“The winner of our tournament won’t get an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. They would have to earn an at-large berth,” said Gordon.

He added that it also allows the independents to play two soccer games in a tourney format that do not count toward the 20 they are allowed to play in a season under NCAA guidelines. That’s the way it is in established conferences, too, as the tournament games don’t count.

Gordon’s Owls are 6-7-1 with five one-goal losses.

“Our record could be a lot better,” said Gordon.

He said he and his players are looking forward to the tournament.

“We didn’t play these teams during the regular season. It’s exciting for us to play some new teams and see if we can be the best among the Northeast Regional independents,” said Gordon.

UMPI has been led by strikers Sebastian Itman (7 goals, 2 assists) and Travis Parent (5 & 4); midfielders Matt Petrie of Old Town, Patrick Rogers of Farmington and Trevor Parent; defenders Gary Mayer from Tennants Harbor and Chase Higgins from Presque Isle, along with captain Ryan Scott and goalkeeper Scott Clenchy.

Tracy named to Hall of Fame

Archie Tracy, who scored more than 1,200 points during a three-year basketball career at Southern Connecticut State in the early 1960s, has been inducted into the school’s Alumni Sports Hall of Fame.

Tracy, a member of Bangor High School’s 1959 state championship team that finished as the New England runner-up, graduated from Southern Connecticut in 1964. He was a two-year captain, surpassing 1,000 career points during his junior season.

Tracy began his professional life as a physical education instructor. He coached basketball at Oliver Wolcott Technical High School in Torrington, Conn., for 17 seasons and headed its baseball program for seven years.

In 1985, Tracy retired from teaching to become a real estate investor. At one time, he managed 1,250 apartments but sold those properties in 1997 and now develops and manages self-storage facilities.

Tracy resides in Conroe, Texas.

Oberlin chills out, forfeits game

Oberlin College field hockey coach Deb Ranieri clearly is aware winning isn’t everything.

The Yeowomen traveled more than 800 miles by bus from Ohio on Wednesday to play Bates College in Thursday’s nonleague game at Campus Avenue Field in Lewiston.

Oberlin staked itself to an early 2-0 lead, then took a 2-1 edge into the halftime intermission. Temperatures in the 30s, frozen precipitation and high winds made the experience a chilling one for the participants.

As Ranieri watched her players shivering and hunching over in a dormitory room during the break, she realized something had to give. Concerned about her players’ well-being, Ranieri opted to forfeit the contest to Bates.

“We have a very big game coming up on Saturday [against Wittenburg] that we have to win in order to win our league [the North Coast Athletic Conference],” Ranieri explained. “We need to be as healthy as we can be for that game. It’s much more important than a nonleague game for us.”

The Bobcats improved to 6-7, while Oberlin’s record slipped to 13-3.

Bowdoin women’s hoop honored

The Bowdoin College women’s basketball team has been recognized for its achievement in the classroom during 2004-05.

The Polar Bears ranked 20th on the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association Honor Roll, which was established in 1996 to recognize outstanding academic performance.

Coach Stefanie Pemper’s team combined for a 3.352 grade point average, tops among New England Small College Athletic Conference schools.

“I’m very proud of the diligence last year’s team showed toward its studies,” Pemper said.

Bowdoin excelled on the courts as well, going 26-3 en route to their fifth straight league championship and a spot in the “Elite Eight” in Division III.

Townsend named UMF trainer

Brian Townsend has been hired as the athletic trainer at the University of Maine-Farmington, athletic director Julie Davis announced recently.

Townsend spent the past three years as the trainer at Camden Hills Regional High School in Rockport, where he oversaw the training for 35 varsity programs.

Townsend also worked as a rehabilitation specialist at Penobscot Bay Physical Therapy. He previously was the trainer at Ashland (Mass.) High School.

He earned his B.A. in athletic training from Marshall University in 1995.