Two talented soccer teams met in Gorham last Saturday afternoon to vie for the top spot in the Little East Conference. Southern Maine came to the game with a 3-1 conference record and looking to rebound from a tough 1-2 conference loss to UMass Dartmouth.
Eastern Connecticut was looking to remain the only undefeated team in the LEC, after a 3-0 win over UMass Boston last weekend.
The teams seemed mirror images of each other going into the game, each having 22 total goals for the season. In goals-against, USM had allowed 19, while Eastern had let in 16. The Huskies needed to come out fast and strong if they were going to make a push for the conference lead and the resulting home-advantage in the fast-approaching playoffs.
And come out fast they most certainly did. After an Eastern Connecticut defender misplayed the ball, senior forward Eddie Weddington (Augusta) beat Eastern defenders and from 15 yards-out buried the ball in the bottom-left corner in the 8th minute of play.
“It was a good way to end my last regular season game on home field,” said Weddington, whose four-year NCAA career will end after this season.
Opportunity came knocking again when Eastern failed to clear a corner kick five minutes later. Junior co-captain Greg Cox (Brookline, MA) snagged the ball and made a quick pass towards senior Ben Slagle (Scarborough), who fired a high cross in front of the 6 yard-line box, where sophomore Peter McHugh (Portland) was standing by himself. McHugh leapt into the air and slammed the ball into the back of the net with a brilliant header, giving the Huskies a 2-0 lead just twelve minutes into the first half.
Meanwhile, the USM defense was holding steadfast.
“Good soccer always starts with the defense,” said Slagle, remembering that they had kept Eastern to only three shots in the first half. Their only lapse came near the end of the first half when a scramble in front of the net ended with a tap-in goal for Eastern, narrowing the Huskies’ lead to 2-1 at halftime.
Eastern took advantage of their momentum and dominated at the opening of the second half. With only five minutes gone, they struck again in an eight-yard shot by junior James Picarella.
Any team’s most vulnerable moment is three minutes after they score a goal, and Slagle took it upon himself to expose Eastern’s weakness as soon as possible. With the ensuing kick off, Slagle made a quick run down the left sideline, then cut towards the top of the 18-yard box. Sinisa Bajic (Belgrade, Serbia) greeted him with a beautiful pass just inside the top of the box. Slagle, with a light touch, cut around an Eastern defender and rocketed a shot into the lower-left corner of the net, giving the Huskies a 3-2 lead at the 50:42 mark.
Despite seeing a couple more chances to tie the game, Eastern found itself denied by the stronghold of the Husky defense. With USM goalie David Kreps (sophomore, Agawam, MA) out of position, junior defender Colin Reilly (Evergreen, CO) made a stellar defensive play at the 10-minute mark, deflecting a shot away from a wide-open net. And Kreps himself made an equally impressive save with six minutes left, deflecting a point-blank shot with a diving save.
“We communicated very well in the defensive third of the field today,” said Coach Mike Keller. “We didn’t stay back on our heels, we aggressively moved the ball up the field and played with the lead.”
Slagle had positive words as well, especially as his team heads toward the conference payoffs.
“We tried to keep the ball and create some good scoring opportunities, he said. “Our execution was much better this week, we played like a team.”
The Huskies play their last conference game on Oct. 20, hoping to beat Western Connecticut and remain on top of the conference. Playoffs begin Oct. 31.