Box Score FARMINGTON, Maine – Junior William Pearsall (Garland, Maine/Dexter Regional) and seniors Caleb Leino (Lewiston, Maine) and Tyler Rand (Westbrook, Maine) each scored second half goals to lead the University of Southern Maine Huskies to a 3-1 win over the UMaine Farmington Beavers in a non-conference men's soccer game Wednesday afternoon at Prescott Field.
With the win the Huskies improve to 2-7-2 on the season. The loss is the second straight for UMaine Farmington, which dips its record to 1-7-1.
After a scoreless first half, in which the Huskies held a slim 7-4 advantage in shots, Southern Maine broke the Beaver defense in short order scoring in a flurry to open the second half. Pearsall put the Huskies ahead 1-0 just one minute and 40 seconds into the second half. Southern Maine junior Kevin McConnell (Veazie, Maine/John Bapst) initiated the play with a pass to sophomore Kyle Curley (Gorham, Maine). Curley quickly fed an open Pearsall who one-time the ball into the back of the net in the 47th minute. The goal is Pearsall's first of his career and first game-winning goal.
Leino quickly doubled the Huskies' lead hitting a well-driven ball off of a cross from Huskies' sophomore Jonathan Varney (Readfield, Maine/Maranacook) in the 48th. The goal is Leino's first of the season. USM added an insurance goal in the 55th minute as Rand converted a penalty kick after being fouled in the box for a 3-0 Huskies' lead.
The score remained 3-0 in favor of USM until late in the game. UMF senior Jordan Luks (Oakham, Mass./Quabbin Regional) broke up the shut out bid in the 88th minute converting a penalty kick. Beaver freshman Yusuf Yama (Goma, Congo/Portland) was brought down in the box by a Southern Maine defender and Luks was elected to take the shot. Southern Maine sophomore keeper Elijah Leverett (North Yarmouth, Maine/Greely) dove to his left and was able to get his finger tips on the ball but was unable to stop the shot.
UMF sophomore Ronie Morales (Houston, Texas/George W. Hewlett) made nine saves in the loss as USM finished the game with a 22-14 edge in shots. Leverett earned the win making six saves.
Southern Maine returns to Little East Conference play on Saturday (12:00 p.m.) when it hosts UMass Dartmouth. UMaine Farmington hosts Johnson State on Saturday (3:30 p.m.) in a North Atlantic Conference game.
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