BANGOR, Maine – The Husson University men's soccer team returned to winning form on Wednesday evening as it earned a 3-1 North Atlantic Conference victory over the University of Maine at Farmington on Boucher Field.
It looked as if Husson (8-4-3, 4-1 NAC) and Farmington (6-6-2, 4-2 NAC) had played to a scoreless, evenly-fought opening 45 minutes but junior Mario Alvarez had other plans. After sophomore Miguel Morales had his corner kick from the bench-side corner headed out of play by a Beaver's defender in the 41st minute, Alvarez took the ensuing corner from the other side and curled a left-footed ball around the out-stretched hands of the Farmington goalkeeper and into the left corner of the goal for his sixth goal of the season, including his second olimpico of the year.
The Eagles carried that momentum into and out of the halftime break as senior Josh Nadeau tallied his second goal of the season as he was in the right place at the right time as the Beaver's goalkeeper was able to save a shot from the left side by junior Pablo Maroto, but the rebound went over his head and Nadeau was right there to blast home the second chance and give Husson a 2-0 lead in the 47th minute.
Farmington was able to cut the lead in half in the 59th minute as Mohamed Adow converted a one-on-one opportunity against junior goalie Alex Rechsteiner as the Eagles got caught in a counter-attack situation after an offensive corner kick.
Husson was quick to answer as Alvarez took a free kick from about 30 yards away and blasted the ball towards the top left corner, where it went through the hands of the goalkeeper and into the goal to secure a brace for Alvarez and a 3-1 lead for the Eagles.
The Beavers had a quality chance in the 75th minute, as a free kick from just outside of the penalty area taken by Zach Chaisson was blasted off the post and cleared away harmlessly by the Husson defense, in addition to another one-on-one opportunity earlier on in the half in which Rechsteiner was able to come off of his line and make a sliding save to once again help preserve the lead for Husson.
Rechsteiner and the Eagle's defense were able to hold strong and secure the conference win for Husson.
The Eagles outshot Farmington 16-6 for the game, including 7-2 in shots on goal. Additionally, Husson was awarded seven corner kick opportunities for the game, while the Beavers could muster just two.
Rechsteiner manned the net for the full 90 minutes and made one saves on two shots.
"I am very pleased with our performance tonight," said head men's soccer coach Gavin Penny. "I thought we got stuck in and was ready for the challenge. UMF is a tough team to play against, but I thought we were a step above and dealt with their threat well. It was an important win for us in what we are trying to achieve, and now we have 3 more conference games that we will need to stay focused in, in order to get results. The lads are very happy. It was the exact response I was looking for from the weekend."
The men's soccer team will hit the road this weekend as it will travel to Cambridge, Mass. to take on Lesley University in another NAC matchup. Kick-off for this Saturday afternoon contest is set for 3 p.m.
