GORHAM, Maine - Closing out the Little East Conference regular-season with a powerful 7-1 win on the road at Plymouth State University, the University of Southern Maine Huskies' men's soccer team claimed the no. 3 seed and a home playoff berth for the upcoming Little East Conference Championship Tournament.
Southern Maine (5-9-4 overall, 3-1-4 Little East) is making its first appearance in the Little East Conference tournament since the 2023 season, and just the five appearance overall. The Huskies' home playoff game is the first for the program since the 2008 season, and the second playoff appearance for Southern Maine in the three-season tenure of head coach
Jim Hopkins '01
The Huskies will begin their 2024 Little East Conference Tournament Championship at home on Hannaford Field against No. 6 Rhode Island College Anchormen (4-7-6, 2-3-3 LEC) on Saturday, November 1 (3:00 pm). The winner of the Southern Maine vs. Rhode Island College quarterfinal match-up will advance to the semifinals and will face No. 2 UMass Boston on Wednesday, November 5.
Southern Maine traveled to Rhode Island College on September 27 during the 2025 regular season. Both the Huskies and Anchormen battled to a 1-1 draw with the Huskies pulling even in the 90
th minute on a penalty kick from junior
Alex Graver (Freeport, Maine).
Scoring 30 goals this season, Southern Maine's scoring output is its best since the 2023 season. Fifteen different Huskies have found the back of the net in 2025 led by Graver who has a team-best seven goals and three assists for 17 points. Graver is followed by two-time LEC Offensive Player of the Week
Exauce Lenge (Portland, Maine). Lenge has six goals and an assist for 13 points.
Defensively, the Huskies are led by senior captain
Liam Conneely (Weymouth, Mass.), sophomores
Connor Roberge (York, Maine),
Connor Leclerc (Windham, Maine) and
Ahmed Al Mshakheel (Biddeford, Maine), as well as sophomore goalkeeper
Gabe Wagner (Freeport, Maine). The Huskies have allowed just 1.22 goals per game.
Averaging 1.46 goals per game, RIC is led by Luizandra Sanches five goals, while Nathan Capelo has been the Anchormen's leading playmaker with five assists. RIC goalkeeping duties have been shared between Shane Merklein and Elhadji Ndoye. Ndoye was the goalkeeper of record in RIC's 3-1 win over Eastern Connecticut making six saves in their regular season finale. Ndoye is 2-4-3 with three shutouts in 2025.
2025 Little East Conference Men's Soccer Tournament Championship Field
- Western Connecticut 13-5-3 (8-0 LEC)
- UMass Boston 10-3-4 (5-1-2 LEC)
- Southern Maine 5-4-9 (3-1-4 LEC)
- Eastern Connecticut 8-7-1 (4-3-1 LEC)
- UMass Dartmouth 7-8-3 (3-3-2 LEC)
- Rhode Island College 4-7-6 (2-3-3 LEC)
Who: No. 3 Southern Maine vs No. 6 Rhode Island College
When: Saturday, November 1, 2025 – 3:00 pm
Where: Hannaford Field, University of Southern Maine – Gorham, Maine.
What: 2025 Little East Conference Men's Soccer Championship Tournament Quarterfinal
Southern Maine (5-4-9, 3-1-4 Little East)
Championships: none
LEC Tournament Record: 0-4-0, 4 appearances
Finals Appearances: 0
Finals Record: NA
Last Finals Appearance: None
Players to Watch: Alex Graver (7g, 3 a, 17p);
Exauce Lenge (6 g, 1 a, 13 p);
Jack Brady (3g, 4a, 10 p)
Goalkeeping: Gabe Wagner (3-4-7), 2 shutouts, 65 saves, 1.36 GAA, 19 GA.
Rhode Island College (4-7-6, 2-3-3 LEC)
Championships: 2008
LEC Tournament Record: 11-18-5
Finals Appearances: 6
Finals Record: 1-5-1
Last Finals Appearance: 2017
Players to Watch: Luizandro Sanches (5g, 2 a, 12p); Julian Orellan (2g, 4a, 8 p); Kody Poplaski (3g, 0 a, 6p)
Goalkeeping: Elhadji Nodye (2-4-3), 45 saves, .776 save percentage, three shutouts, 13 GA, 1.44 GAA
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