WILLIMANTIC, Conn. – Senior forward Mitch Power (Douglas, MA) scored with 17 seconds left as the Eastern Connecticut State University men's soccer team extended its Little East Conference unbeaten streak to 16 with a 1-0 victory over Rhode Island College Saturday afternoon at Thomas Nevers Field.

With its fifth 1-0 home win this year, two-time defending conference champion Eastern (9-2-3, 4-0-1 LEC) remains atop the conference with 13 points, one ahead of Massachusetts Dartmouth.  UMass Dartmouth kept pace with a 3-0 victory over visiting Plymouth State University Saturday. Rhode Island (5-5-4, 1-2-2 LEC) is 0-4-2 in its last six matches and is 0-3-2 against Eastern in the last five meetings with the Warriors.

Power finally netted his team-leading eighth goal of the season on his eighth and final shot of the match. Power settled a long head pass from senior midfielder Carl Stensland (Storrs), gained a step on Rhode Island junior back David Ricci (Smithfield, RI) while carrying into the box, and unloaded a drive from the right side of the box which cleanly settled into the upper left-hand side of the goal.

The Warriors, who returned to the winning track at home after losing their only home match this year Monday, outshot the Anchormen 14-8 and amassed a 10-2 advantage in corner kicks, but could not break through until Power recorded his second game-winning goal of the year.

Power had at least three excellent scoring chances in the final 27 minutes before knocking in the game-winning. With 27 minutes left, his 19-yard free kick from inside the circle was saved at the left post by Rhode Island freshman keeper Christopher Moura (Rumford, RI); thirteen minutes later, the 6-foot-1 inch team captain found space beyond the top of the box, but his 30-yard drive sailed high; and from close range with just over a minute left, he headed a perfect corner kick by freshman midfielder Nicholas Warren (Southbury) directly at the Rhode Island keeper.

Several of Eastern's second-half bids came off Warren's corner kicks. Sophomore forward Timothy Jennison's (Coventry) volley attempt went wide of the left post off Warren's corner with 17 minutes left and with 2:30 remaining, Jennison targeted Stensland at the right post off another corner, but Moura was there to stuff Stensland and keep the game scoreless.

Rhode Island's best opportunities came in the first half, although  freshman midfielder Anderson Monteiro (Pawtucket, RI) and freshman back Devin Lambert (Albion, RI) hooked up on near-identical plays in the second half that nearly gave the Anchormen the lead. On both, Monteiro sent perfect free kicks to Lambert at the left post. Lambert's diving header on the first midway through the second half sailed wide left and his second with seven minutes left in the match was volleyed wide.

With four saves, Eastern freshman keeper Greg Walton (Brunwick, ME) posted his sixth shutout in 14 starts, lowering his goals-against average to 0.65. In eight home starts, Walton is 7-1-0 with five shutouts, a 0.37 GAA and .889 save percentage.

Moura made seven stops.

Eastern hosts the U.S. Coast Guard Academy Tuesday at 3 p.m.