Box Score WILLIMANTIC, Conn. – Sophomores Mitch Power (Douglas, MA) , Tom Vear (Monson, MA) and Nathan Mozian (Southington) scored first-half goals and senior keeper Carl Appel (West Windsor, NJ) tied the Eastern Connecticut State University men's soccer record with his 25th career shutout as the Warriors remained atop the Little East Conference standings with a 3-0 win over Keene State College Saturday afternoon at Thomas Nevers Field.
Ranked sixth in New England, Eastern (8-3-1, 4-0-0 little east) posted its first victory and first regular-season shutout over Keene State (5-6-1, 2-2-0 little east) in 41 years and recorded its sixth home shutout in seven outings this season. In 14 previous seasons of LEC regular-season play against the Owls, the Warriors had lost 11 and tied three.
With the win, Eastern remains three points ahead of Rhode Island College and five ahead of Massachusetts Dartmouth in the LEC standings. Saturday, the Anchormen (3-1-0) topped Western Connecticut, 1-0, on the road and UMass Dartmouth (2-1-1) edged visiting UMass Boston, 2-1. Like Keene, the University of Southern Maine (2-2-0) also lost (3-1 against visiting Plymouth State University) as both teams drop six points off the pace and share fourth place.
The Warriors were the No. 1 ranked team in the LEC pre-season poll but Keene had won last year's LEC regular season and tournament titles. While Eastern had played Keene to a scoreless overtime draw in the championship game of the 2007 LEC tournament (Eastern being awarded the title on PKs), the Warriors had not beaten the Owls by shutout since 1970, when they won, 3-0, at the old Alumni Field.
Coming off its only home loss Wednesday in overtime, 2-1, when it allowed its only home goal, Eastern scored twice in 17 minutes in the first half Saturday, and Mozian's first career goal off a throw-in from Vear 48 seconds before the end of the first half gave the hosts a three-goal cushion.
Power's fourth goal of the season (he had a hat trick for his first career goals 11 days ago at Nevers Field) gave the Warriors a 1-0 lead in the 21st inute of play, and Vear's first goal of 2011 made it 2-0 less than 17 minutes later.
Sophomore Luke Capezzone (Colchester) sprung Power for the first goal of the match, with Power beating Keeene sophomore keeper Malcom Cheney in a 1-on-1 opportunity. After Keene was assessed a yellow car, senior back Aaron Smiles (Bedford, MA) sent a free kick to sophomore Zach Kice (Denver, CO), and Vear finished it off by touching it past Cheney at the left post to make it 2-0. Just before the half, Vear found Mozian at the left post on a long throw-in from in front of the Eastern bench, and Mozian placed it inside the post to complete the game's scoring.
Eastern dominated much of the early going before Keene began to control play. Power's goal gave the momentum back to Eastern, however, and Smiles nearly made it 2-0 with 11 minutes left in the half, but his header off a free kick from sophomore Christopher Giustina (Enfield) sailed just wide.
Down 3-0, Keene's best chance came seven minutes apart early in the second half when passes from sophomore Scott Douglas and junior Kyle Leavitt set up junior Danny Silverman for an open header but the ball sailed wide. Minutes later, junior Joe Senecal – who scored the tying goal in Keene's 2-1 victory over Eastern last year – beat two Eastern defenders while heading toward the end line and fired a hard cross to senior Eric Martens at the far post. Martens just missed the ball on a diving header, however, as it sailed out of the box.
Appel was credited with one official save when he stopped a bid bySilverman two minutes into the second half. The shutout ties the record set by Eastern Hall of Famer Joel Boisvert between 1970 and 1973.
Eastern visits Massachusetts Boston in a conference match Saturday at 1 p.m.
