“Sinisa is playing like a man.”
Those were the words of men’s soccer coach Mike Keller in describing the recent play of his senior forward Sinisa Bajic (Belgrade, Serbia).
With two goals and an assist in last week’s game against Bowdoin, Bajic lifted the struggling Huskies to a 3-1 victory over instate rival Bowdoin College in non-conference play.
Bajic moved into second place on USM’s all-time list with the goals and gave him 100 points for his career.
And while the goals were historic for Bajic, they were critical to ending the team’s two-game losing skid.
“It was great,” Keller said of the win, “not just because we won, but because we played so well together.”
At the center of that togetherness was Bajic, who assisted on the game’s first goal when he sent a perfect ball across the field to junior midfielder Peter McHugh (Portland) who booted the ball past the Bowdoin goalie.
Bajic joined in on the scoring when he sent another well-placed pass across the field, this time deflecting off a Bowdoin defender and finding its way to the back of the net. He later tallied another score when he blasted a ball past the Bowdoin defense on a 25-yard free kick.
“Our offense really came from our defense,” Keller said.
With strong play in the midfield from sophomore Adam Gadbois (Brunswick) and a strong defensive effort turned in by senior defender Colin Reilly (Evergreen, CO), the Huskies opened up their break away game and freed Bajic up on the sidelines.
Bowdoin threatened at the 25-minute mark in the second half when they lobbed a shot off the cross-bar and then scored their lone goal on a free kicking resulting from a USM handball.
Aside from that one blemish, junior goalkeeper David Kreps (Agawam, MA) had a solid outing in goal, making two saves and making shots on goal tough to come by for the polar bears.
The game marks a potential turning point in the season. Coming off of a win against a tough NESCAC school in Bowdoin, the Huskies take a 4-2-1 record into their first conference game against foe and conference favorite Keene State.
“It takes a while for a team to gel,” Keller said, adding that his team’s head appeared to be in the right place. ‘”Sinisa knows he’s close to the record, but he’s talking about wins and the team and we’re more concerned about the name on the front of the jersey than the name on the back.”
With six goals in seven games and 14 points overall, it appears that Bajic’s torrid pace could help him surpass John Sylva (1974-77) as the school’s all-time leading scorer.
He needs two goals to surpass Sylva’s mark for goals and seven points to break the scoring record.
The win over Bowdoin was the program’s first over the school since 2004 and only the fourth time in 28 tries.
**On Saturday Bajic had two assists in helping USM defeat Keene State, moving him to 102 points for his career, just five behind Sylva**