When Heather Davis took over the University of New England women’s soccer program five years ago, she had two goals: to strengthen the team’s schedule and to recruit in-state talent. She’s accomplished both – and the Nor’easters are looking very strong these days.

After beating the University of Southern Maine 4-1 on Tuesday, UNE is 9-2-1, unbeaten in its last five games and in second place in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (3-1-1). Davis is pleased, but not satisfied.

“I was fortunate when I came here that (former UNE coach) Doug Biggs had built a strong, reputable program,” said Davis, who earned her 150th career win on Oct. 9 when UNE beat Bates 1-0, ending an 11-game losing streak against the Bobcats.

“We’ve made great strides. But we’re still far from where our endgame is, and that includes continued growth and progression.”

The Nor’easters are looking to go farther in the playoffs than they have the last three years, with first-round CCC losses each fall. To do that, they’ll need to continue to get the efforts they are receiving from several young players. UNE’s 27-player roster includes 10 sophomores and eight freshmen.

UNE’s leading scorer is freshman Becca Murphy from Durham, New Hampshire. She has eight goals and two assists. Its top goalkeeper is sophomore Brielle Robinson, from Monson, Massachusetts. She has a 5-2-1 record with a 0.85 goals-against average.

“Coming into this year, we wanted the sophomores and freshmen to feel comfortable on the team,” said co-captain Kaitlyn Hall, a senior forward from Dayton (Thornton Academy).

“We wanted them all to feel like they were part of the team, that we were all working toward one goal. We don’t go easy on them in practice. It is a huge difference from high school to college. We teach them what we learned in the past that was good, and they’ve brought in some new ideas.”

The younger players have boosted UNE’s depth and given the Nor’easters an aggressive offense that they lacked the last couple of years. Davis was confident in the team’s defense and midfield coming into the season, but wanted to see more from the offense. And she’s gotten it.

Eleven players have scored goals, with Jackie Dickerson, a junior from Windham, New Hampshire, scoring five.

“We have players with different strengths that complement each other well,” said Davis. “That’s given us more diversity and more range. That’s why we’re scoring more.”

Davis also has made it a point to recruit in-state. The Nor’easters roster includes 13 players from Maine. Five are from Scarborough and three from Thornton Academy.

“There’s a lot of talent in Maine,” said Davis. “I make it my job to not only recruit nationally, but to know every kid in Maine.”

UNE won its first five, then lost back-to-back games to Gordon College and Bowdoin College. But the Nor’easters have responded.

“Our (motto) this year is ‘Stronger Every Day,”’ said Hall, who is majoring in medical biology and hopes to become a pediatric dentist. “We take something from each game, every practice, and build on it. There’s always something you can learn, from every win, every loss. (The losses) made us realize we weren’t invincible.”

Davis believes the team hasn’t peaked yet.

“We know our best soccer is yet to come,” she said. “We’ve got to get tighter (defensively) in pressure situations in our 18. We need to continue to play faster and be dangerous and get the ball in the back of the net.

“As we move through the season, every game is tough. And in the playoffs, the games are only going to get more difficult.”

FIELD HOCKEY

Colby College junior midfielder Megan Fortier of Falmouth scored twice in a 3-0 win over Connecticut College on Saturday, giving her 31 career goals. She also has 12 career assists. For the season, Fortier has 11 goals and three assists for the 7-5 Mules.

• St. Joseph’s College sophomore forward Kelsey Dumond of Lewiston was named the Great Northeast Athletic Conference player of the week. She had three goals and two assists as the Monks won two games. She now has seven goals and eight assists on the season.

• Husson University freshman goalkeeper Abby Greenleaf of Newfield (Massabesic) was recently named ECAC Division III co-rookie of the week, based on a 5-0 shutout of Castleton in which she had eight saves.

MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY

UNE junior C.J. Vallie of Nashua, New Hampshire, was named CCC runner of the week after finishing eighth among 388 entrants in the James Earley Invitational at Stanley Park in Westfield, Massachusetts with a time of 26 minutes, 28 seconds in the 8-kilometer race. UNE finished fifth among 37 teams.

WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY

UNE sophomore Brittney Sorbello of Dover, New Hampshire, was named CCC runner of the week. She finished 11th among 424 runners in the James Earley Invitational with a 5-kilometer time of 18 minutes, 43 seconds. She helped the Nor’easters finish third among 44 teams.

• University of Southern Maine junior Hannah Damron of Windham was selected as Little East Conference runner of the week for the third time this season. Damron led the Huskies to an eighth-place finish in the James Earley Invitational by completing the race in 18:54.53 for a 19th-place finish.

• UNE freshman Lindsay Maffei of Windham, New Hampshire, was the CCC rookie runner of the week after she placed fourth in the Runnin’ Monks Invitational with a time of 21:25 on the 5-kilometer course. UNE won the eight-team event at St. Joseph’s College.

• Freshman Shannon Conley of South Portland has been the lead runner for Saint Anselm this fall. Her most recent effort was a 17th-place finish in the James Earley Invitational where she finished in 18:52.6. Saint Anselm finished sixth, with freshman Heather Evans of York coming in 30th at 19:25.07.

MEN’S SOCCER

UNE senior forward Matthew Christie of Hudson, New Hampshire, was named CCC offensive player of the week for the second straight time. He scored two goals and assisted on another in the Nor’easters 1-0-1 week. He had the game-winning goal and an assist in a 2-0 win over Johnson & Wales. He also scored in a 1-1 tie with Wentworth.

• UNE senior goalkeeper Aidan McParland of Brockville, Ontario, was named CCC defensive player of the week for the third straight time. He had 17 saves in the Nor’easters’ two games, including eight against Johnson & Wales for his fifth shutout of the season.

• Junior forward Jack Lano of South Portland is a captain on the Elmira College team. He has played in all 11 games this year for 0-9-2 Elmira. Sophomore forward Kevin Kanakan of Portland (Waynflete) has played in 10 games for the Eagles.

VOLLEYBALL

UNE freshman outside hitter Courtney Lambrese of Cranston, Rhode Island, was named CCC rookie of the week. She averaged 2.6 kills per set in a 2-1 week for the Nor’easters.

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