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On Friday, the University of Maine men’s soccer team hosted Bryant University. It was a dreary setting, but UMaine’s play brightened up the day as it found the back of the net four times en route to a 4-0 victory.
With the win, the Black Bears improved to 3-4-1 on the season, while Bryant dropped to 1-7-1.
The first half got underway without many shots on goal but UMaine struck in impressive fashion at the 23:24 mark. The Black Bears were awarded a direct kick from about 30 yards out. Junior Nikola Bogdanovic struck the ball well and rattled it off the far post and into the net, giving UMaine a 1-0 lead.
With 10 minutes left in the half, the Black Bears had several good chances.
Sophomore Jake Ostrov fired a shot that curled just over the crossbar, and on the ensuing corner kick, it took a goal-line save by a Bryant defender to keep the ball out of the net. UMaine entered halftime with the 1-0 advantage.
Early in the second half, the Black Bears added to their lead. Junior Phil Reed had a breakaway opportunity that brought the Bryant goalkeeper out charging. The two collided, and the ball squirted back to freshman Ross Seagram, who lobbed the ball into the open net.
Two minutes later there was a scary moment for UMaine. Freshman Justin Facer went up for a header and collided heads with a Bryant midfielder, opening a cut near his ear. He was tended to by UMaine medical officials and appeared to be all right.
UMaine kept its momentum rolling with 18 minutes left. Bogdanovic fed senior Captain Dimitri Anastasiou a nice overhead pass, and Anastasiou was able to put the ball beneath the keeper’s outstretched arms. It crossed the goal line before a defender could save it, and the lead was 3-0.
The Black Bears were able to put one more away in the final seconds. Seagram took a pass from fellow freshman Ethan Lincoln and buried it into the corner of the net to complete the scoring, his second goal on the day.
UMaine junior keeper Nemanja Kostic had a great day in net, registering his second consecutive shutout. The Black Bears did a good job controlling the pace of the game and maintaining possession. They outshot Bryant 19-6 for the game, and scored four goals for the first time since 2005.
The Black Bears were scheduled to take on Harvard University on Sunday, but the game was postponed until Nov. 5 due to predicted rain. Their next game is Saturday, when they’ll host UMBC in their first conference battle.
Bangor Daily News