BANGOR, Maine – The Husson University men's soccer team earned a season-opening, non-conference win over the Wentworth Institute of Technology 3-2 on Friday afternoon at Boucher Field behind a late goal from freshman Leonardo D'Amico.
Both teams had their chances early in the first half as Kyle Hallahan looked to put the Leopards ahead in the 14th minute as he had one shot saved by Husson's freshman goalkeeper Samuel Bermudez, before having a second attempt blocked away by the Eagle's defense, as the game remained scoreless.
The Eagles and the Leopards each had numerous more first half chances before Husson found pay dirt in the 20th minute as junior Florian Gasser tapped an outside-footed shot past two Wentworth defenders off of a cross from freshman Hugo Llopiz to give the Eagles their first lead of the day.
That score would remain until the 49th minute as Jacob Dukeshire looked to put the Leopards on his back as he tallied two goals in a three and a half minute-span to give Wentworth a 2-1 lead. The lead would be short-lived for Wentworth as junior Mario Alvarez bent in a corner kick from the right corner to knot the game back up at two in the 59th minute.
Husson would regain the lead for good with under eight minutes left to play when D'Amico rifled home his first collegiate goal and the eventual game-winner off of a saved shot by the Leopards keeper to make the score 3-2. The Husson defense would hold off a furious Wentworth attack for the final seven minutes to earn their first victory of the season.
Bermudez split action in net for the Eagles and made three saves, while sophomore Carlos Galloni also saw time at keeper for Husson and wasn't forced to make a save.
"Today was a good test of our progression since last year," said head men's soccer coach Gavin Penny. "Wentworth made us work hard and while I am happy with the win, we have a lot of room for improvement. I thought we showed great character to claw ourselves back into the match after gifting them a goal to take the lead, but we showed our strength in numbers and the lads who came in got the win over the line. I am happy to start a season off with a winning record and looking for an improved performance against Emerson on Sunday."
The men's soccer team will be back in action on Sunday as they conclude their brief two-game, non-conference home stand when they play Emerson College. Kick-off for this non-conference affair is set for 3 p.m.
