Box Score GORHAM, Maine -- Freshman Kafou Doumbia (New York, N.Y.) scored in the 83rd minute to cap a run of three unanswered goals by the University of Maine at Farmington in a span of 23 minutes to give the Beavers a 4-3 victory over the University of Southern Maine Huskies in a non-conference men's soccer match Wednesday afternoon at Hannaford Field.
The win snapped a five-match winless stretch (0-4-1) for the Beavers, and improved their overall record to 2-4-1. The Huskies remain winless on the season at 0-10-1.
Doumbia was in the right place at the right time as a misplayed USM clearing attempt ricocheted right to him 15 yards out from goal, and he slotted home a right-footed shot that proved to be the game-winning goal.
The Beavers had to survive an anxious moment in the 86th minute when USM junior Nat LeBlanc (Cumberland, Maine/Greely) struck the crossbar with a free kick, and rookie T.J. Reagan (Standish, Maine/Bonny Eagle) headed the rebound off the bar and out of play.
Tied 1-1 at the half, Southern Maine took command with a pair of goals five minutes apart. Junior Caleb Leino (Lewiston, Maine) knocked home a pass from sophomore Michael Daniel (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) after a quick restart in the 52nd minute. LeBlanc gave the Huskies a two-goal margin five minutes later as he struck a 25-yard blast in the upper right corner.
UMF got right back into the match in the 61st minute as Doumbia played the ball across the top of the 18-yard box to sophomore Ryan Fairbanks (Lisbon Falls, Maine) who struck a shot past USM rookie goalkeeper Adam Verreault (Poland, Maine).
Sophomore Dahir Muktar (Lewiston, Maine) equalized for the Beavers in the 72nd minute when his outside-of-the-foot shot from the right side curled inside the far post.
In the opening half, Daniel gave the Huskies a 1-0 lead in the seventh minute as he nutmeged a UMF defender and beat rookie goalkeeper Ronie Morales (Hewlett, N.Y.) from 10 yards out.
The USM lead lasted only about four minutes as sophomore Ibrahim Achekh (Aboudeia, Chad) scored for UMF.
Morales came up with four saves to earn his first collegiate win in goal. Verreault made four saves at the other end for the Huskies. UMF finished with a slim 18-17 edge in shots while USM had a 6-4 advantage in corner kicks.
Southern Maine returns to action on Saturday (2:30 p.m.) playing a Little East Conference match at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. UMaine Farmington travels to Colby-Sawyer College for a North Atlantic Conference match on Saturday (12:30 p.m.).
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