BANGOR, Maine - The Husson University Eagles (1-2) dropped a non-conference football game to Western New England University Golden Bears (2-1), 31-28, on a warm and sunny Saturday afternoon at the Dr. John W. Winkin Sports Complex.

FOR HUSSON:

• Solomon Hassen ran for 121 yards on 28 attempts with a long of 54 yards.
• Cory Brandon completed 23-of-38 pass attempts for 258 yards, three touchdowns, and an interception.
• Brandon struck for touchdowns of 30, 15, and nine yards on the day.
• Kyle Gaudet caught eight passes for 80 yards.
• Tyler Halls hauled in four Brandon passes for 69 yards and a score.
• Keyshaun Robinson recorded 59 yards on five catches with two touchdowns.
• The dual-threat of Ty Bassett caught five passes for 45 yards, ran for three yards on one carry and returned a kickoff 94 yards to the house to finish with 192 yards of all-purpose.
• Devin Pickett converted all four of his extra points to extend his school record of consecutive extra points made to 40.
• Elvin Suazo led the Eagle defense with a game-high 13 tackles (four solo).
• Ace Curry recorded eight tackles (six solo).
• Tarik Smith contributed seven tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss.  
• Quan Soyini and Frank Curran each had six tackles, while Curran added a sack.

FOR WESTERN NEW ENGLAND:

• Alec Coleman finished with 142 yards through the air off 14-for-25 attempts with a one touchdown pass.
• Coleman added 35 yards on the ground on ten attempts with a score.
• Brendan Smith completed 6-of-7 passes for 68 yards and one touchdown.
• Peter Hoff carried the ball 19 times for 64 yards and one touchdown.
• Jared Wolf led all Golden Bear receivers with seven catches for 77 yards on the day, while AJ Hall and Steven Fedorchak each caught one touchdown.
• Chris Quarles led the Golden Bears' defense with 13 tackles (four solo).
• Joshua Salem had ten tackles, a sack, two tackles for loss, a breakup and one quarterback hurry.
• Mike Chirco recorded eight tackles.
• Kurtis Jolicoeur added seven tackles.
• Tommy Ganley and Joe Lapinski each had six tackles, while Ganley added an interception.

GAME REVIEW:

• In the third meeting between the two future Commonwealth Coast Football opponents, looked like it was going to be a battle of the defenses, as the only points scored in the opening 30 minutes was off the foot of Western New England's kicker Valentin Wagner eight seconds into the second quarter when he hit a 27-yard field goal to cap off a 13 play, 70-yard drive.
• However, the second half saw a back-and-forth fight of the offenses as both team's combined to score 56 points.
• A Coleman eight-yard run pushed the Golden Bear lead to ten with 9:22 remaining in the third.
• The Eagles got on the board 31 seconds later when Brandon found Robinson wide open for a 15-yard touchdown pass after Hassen broke loose for a 54-yard rush in the previous play to cut the WNE lead back down to three.
• After back-to-back three and outs by both teams, a drop punt return by Hall gave the Eagles the ball right back on the WNE 42. Five plays later, Brandon found Robinson once again, giving Husson their first lead of the game, 14-10, with 4:08 remaining in the third.
• Western New England responded quickly when Coleman connected with Hall for a 21-yard touchdown pass as the Golden Bears reclaimed the lead one minute and 50 seconds later.
• Husson didn't waste anytime taking the lead back as Bassett returned the proceeding kickoff 94 yards to house giving the Eagles the 21-17 advantage with 1:59 left in the third.
• The score remained 21-17 until 12:11 remained in the game when Hoff pushed himself across the endzone line from the Eagle two yard, making the game 24-21 Western New England.
• A Golden Bear pass interference penalty setup the Eagles next scoring opportunity, when Brandon completed a 30-yard touchdown pass to Halls, four plays later as HU regained the lead with 8:14 remaining.
• A 12-play, 75-yard Western New England drive that lasted over four minutes and 53 seconds put the Golden Bears up once again when Smith completed a 19-yard pass to Fedorchak.
• The Eagles marched right back down the field on their proceeding possession looking for the game winning touchdown, but a Ganley interception in the endzone with 38 seconds left to play sealed the 31-28 victory for the Golden Bears.  

 TEAM STATS:

• Both teams combined for 724 yards of total offense with 492 coming in the second half.

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:

With the result, Husson falls to 0-3 in the history of the series with Western New England, while the Golden Bears become the first team to defeat Husson at home since the Eagles loss to Alfred University, 39-25, on September 5th, 2015.

UP NEXT:

Husson enjoys a bye week before heading to Throggs Neck, N.Y. to open their final Eastern Collegiate Football Conference schedule with SUNY Maritime. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.

The Golden Bears return home to face Anna Maria in a non-conference battle at Golden Bear Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 1:00 p.m.