Downing, a Cape Elizabeth native, is a senior back for the Northeastern University men's soccer team. He is playing his final season with a torn left groin muscle first injured in his junior season.
"I'm just trying to make it through the season," said the 22-year-old Downing. "We're working hard at it. I can't move up and down the field like I used to. I can't do some of the things that I like to do."
The obvious solution is surgery, but that would end Downing's season and college career. He won't have any of that. This is the game he loves and he won't give it up until he absolutely has to.
"I was just drawn to the sport when I was younger," he said. "I like the action, the competition. And I did have role models that I looked up to, guys I wanted to be like: Roger Levesque, Aaron Maines, guys who played Division I and did it well."
Downing, a captain for the Huskies, worked hard to reach the Division I level. After graduating from Cape Elizabeth, he spent a year at Loomis Chaffee, a prep school in Windsor, Conn. It was there he got noticed.
In his first season at Northeastern, he got into 16 games as the Huskies won the America East title and played in the NCAA tournament. He even scored a goal when the Huskies went to penalty kicks against Lehigh, his only college goal.
He played in 20 games his sophomore year as Northeastern advanced to the America East final. Then came his junior year, when he was limited to six games. He suffered the torn groin muscle in preseason and tried to play through it. He received a cortisone shot halfway through the season but when he came back, he tore the muscle even more.
A finance and marketing major, he has one more year of studies to complete before graduating. In January, he will travel to San Diego to work as part of the school's cooperative program.
"From my standpoint, I couldn't have asked for anything better," said Downing of his college experience. "It has been a great experience walking onto this team and playing all four years. It's been a great ride and I'm glad I did it."
Of note: Seniors Donna Cowing, Katie Frost and Megan Myles have been named captains of the University of Southern Maine women's basketball team. They helped the Huskies reach the NCAA Division III Final Four last year and set a school record with 31 victories. Cowing is from Weeks Mills and attended Erskine Academy, Frost is from Calais and Myles went to Edward Little in Auburn. Preseason practice begins Sunday and the Huskies open the season Nov. 18-19 at the University of Maine at Farmington Tip-Off Tournament.
n USM sophomore defender Samantha Rennie was named Little East Conference women's soccer defensive player of the week. Freshman goalkeeper Mindy Morneault of Eagle Lake and Fort Kent High was named LEC women's soccer rookie of the week for the period ending Oct. 9. Rennie scored her first collegiate goal in the 71st minute of a 2-2 tie with nationally ranked Bowdoin. Morneault had 13 saves in that game, which snapped a 19-game losing streak against the Polar Bears.
n Maine at Farmington freshman goalkeeper Brian Lemont of Brunswick was named North Atlantic Conference men's soccer rookie of the week. He had 27 saves and three shutouts, holding opponents scoreless for 290 minutes as the Beavers went 2-0-1.
n UMF junior forward Jodi Welch of Wells was named NAC women's soccer co-player of the week. Welch scored four goals as the Beavers went 2-0-1.
n St. Joseph's freshman midfielder Megan Willette of Waterville was named Association of Division III Independents women's soccer player of the week. She had five goals and two assists as the Monks went 2-0.
Keeping tabs: Freshman twin sisters Elizabeth and Beth Wilcox of Topsham continue to contribute to the Ithaca women's cross country team. Each has top-10 finishes in the Pat Peterson Invitational at Oswego, N.Y., and the Fortin Airfield Park Invitational at Oneonta, N.Y. They have finished in back-to-back positions, posting identical times, in four consecutive races.
n Junior forward Ashley Barker of Cape Elizabeth is one of five Mainers on the William Smith College field hockey team. She recently was honored as ECAC Division III co-player of the week and Liberty League co-player of the week, when she scored three goals in a 4-1 victory at Rochester. Barker is fourth on the team in scoring with four goals and three assists. Senior goalie Susan Jordan of Boothbay is 11-1 with a 1.23 goals-against average and .774 saves percentage. Junior defender Katelin Nickerson of Yarmouth has started 12 games with three defensive saves. Junior defender Liz Saucier of Old Town has three goals and one assist in 12 starts, and junior defender Michelle Peters of Freeport has started three games for the Herons.
n Junior Shawn Warren of Windham is the leading golfer on the Marshall men's golf team with a 74.11 average through nine rounds. He recently had a career-best third-place finish in the Memphis Intercollegiate. Warren shot a 2-under 214 (73-70-71) in the 54-hole event to finish two strokes behind the runner-up.
n Junior forward Kristen Allen of Portland and Deering High is the third-leading scorer on the Bentley field hockey team. She has seven goals and five assists, with three winning goals.
n Sophomore midfielder/back Matt Dubois of Westbrook has started nine games for the Ithaca men's soccer team as part of a defense that has allowed only five goals in nine games. Dubois recently recorded his first collegiate point with an assist in a victory over Utica.
n Junior Alex Hardenbrook of Kennebunk is 10-5 while playing No. 1 singles for the Colby-Sawyer women's tennis team. She also plays No. 1 doubles and is 8-6 with four different partners.
n Junior Andrea Giddings of South Portland helped Middlebury win the Vermont cross country championship by finishing third with a time of 19 minutes, 29.6 seconds.
n Sophomore Louise Taylor of Yarmouth is undefeated for the Salve Regina women's tennis team. Playing No. 1 singles, Taylor is 7-0. She also is 8-0 in doubles play, 3-0 at No. 1 and 5-0 at No. 2.
n Junior Carl Frye of Portland is the leading rusher on the Salve Regina football team. Frye has rushed 76 times for 242 yards and one touchdown. He also has three receptions for 20 yards and one touchdown. The Seahawks' roster also includes senior defensive tackle Jerry Collett of South Portland and freshman offensive lineman Brandon Baldyga of Wells. Collett has eight tackles in two games.
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