Box Score
Game Information:
- Score: Eastern Connecticut State University: 1, University of Southern Maine: 1
- Records: Eastern Overall: (8-6-1) LEC: (4-2-1)/Southern Maine Overall: (4-4-9) LEC: (2-1-4)
- Location:Â Mansfield, CT (Rick McCarthy Field)
Scoring Summary:
- 17:59 (1-0) USM: Southern Maine's Jack Brady picks up the ball off a deflection, playing it wide to Nicholas Mauro. His cross finds the head of Exauce Lenge, who puts a strong header over a diving Jack Harmon
- 73:51 (1-1): Niall O'Brien (Guilford) puts the ball into a dangerous area off his free kick. Southern Maine fails to deal with the loose ball, which finds a wide-open Patricio Vidales (Cancun, MX), who nets a tap in from a few yards out for his first career goal
Key Moments:
- Reid Dowling (East Lyme) finds Eliot Melgar (New York, NY) with just one defender to beat. He drags a left footed shot towards net, forcing a reflex save from Southern Maine's Gabe Wagner
- Miguel Garcia (Willimantic) sends a deep cross toward team captain Niall O'Brien (Guilford), who heads the ball back across to Melgar, whose header is cleared off the line by Connor Leclerc for the Huskies
- With pressure piling on late in the game, Connor Leclerc puts a hard challenge into the chest of Noah Page (Stafford), earning himself a yellow card. O'Brien's free kick is easily cleared by Paul Liwanga, sending Southern Maine on the counterattack. With time running out, the Huskies aren't able to find their game-winning goal and the game ends level
Game Notes:
- Southern Maine outshot Eastern Connecticut 10-8, but Eastern had the edge in shots on target, 5-4
- The Warriors were caught offside just twice, both of which prevented key scoring opportunities
- Corners were 9-4 in favor of Eastern, who scored their only goal off a set piece
- Southern Maine's only shots on target were taken by Cole Johnson and the goal scorer Exauce Lenge. Melgar led all players with three on target
Up Next:
Eastern visits Rhode Island College (3-7-6 / 1-3-3 LEC) in the regular-season and LEC finale Wednesday at 4 p.m at Alumni Stadium. The Anchormen kept their slim playoff hopes alive with a 4-1 road win over VTSU Castleton Saturday while sixth-place Keene State College lost ,3-2, at conference regular-season champion Western Connecticut Saturday. Unofficially, an Eastern win Wednesday and a University of Massachusetts Boston loss or tie against visiting University of Massachusetts Dartmouth would give the Warriors second place and a first-round playoff bye. By winning Wednesday, Eastern is, unofficially, guaranteed no worse than a first-round LEC playoff home match Saturday.
