GORHAM, Maine – Against the University of Southern Maine Saturday in a Little East Conference men's soccer match at Hannaford Field, Eastern Connecticut State University sophomore goalkeeper Nathan Yeich (Willington) extended his shutout streak, and because of that, the Warriors extended theirs against the Huskies in a 1-0 victory.
 
Yeich, the LEC leader in goal-against average and save percentage, moved into a share of the LEC lead with his third shutout of the year, extending his scoreless streak to 314 minutes and 41 seconds that allowed Eastern (4-2-2, 1-1-0 LEC) to post its eighth straight shutout in the series against Southern Maine (2-3-2, 0-2-0 LEC). In 14 straight victories over the Huskies, Eastern has posted 12 shutouts.
 
Remaining unbeaten (3-0-1) away from Thomas Nevers Field this year, Eastern got a late first-half goal from sophomore Sean Cafferty (Clinton) and Yeich's five saves made that lead stand up. Junior Caleb Ennin (East Hartford) recorded his first assist of the year on Cafferty's first goal of the year.
 
All three of Yeich's shutouts this year have come by 1-0 scores. Saturday, he posted his second full shutout, lowering his GAA to 0.24 (one goal in 378 minutes) and raising his save percentage to .944. He has appeared in six of the team's eight match, posting wins in all four of his starts.
 
Eastern had three unanswered shots and three unanswered corner kicks against the Huskies until Cafferty finally broke the tie with his sixth career goal with eight minutes left in the first half. Yeich preserved the shutout and win when he snared USM Mohamed Abdurahman's header in the final seconds.
 
The match was the first of three straight in LEC play for Eastern, which hosts Western Connecticut State University Wednesday at Nevers Field and visits Keene State College Saturday at 2 p.m. The Warriors defeated Western Connecticut, 2-1, to claim its sixth LEC playoff title last year at Nevers field, scoring twice in the second half to erase a 1-0 deficit after losing in overtime on the road during the regular season. Eastern downed Keene State, 3-1, in last year's regular-season match at Nevers Field.