BENNINGTON, Vt. – Early goals by the University of Maine at Fort Kent put the visiting Bengals in charge en route to a 5-1 victory over the Southern Vermont College men's soccer team at Everett Field Friday afternoon.
The non-conference match was the first meeting between the two schools in any sport.
Fort Kent took the scoreboard quickly, taking an SVC turnover at midfield and turning it into a goal with a nice dribbling performance by senior Kennard Brown (St. Elizabeth, Jamaica). He took the ball from about 50 yards away from the net, went through the Southern Vermont defense and finished for his fifth of the season just 12 seconds into the game.
The Bengals added insurance at the 3:39 mark of the first with a goal by sophomore Jamie Reid (Johnstone, Scotland), his fourth of the year. Reid collected a crossing pass from the left side by junior Ross Downie (Edinburgh, Scotland) in the middle of the box, took a touch and made the finish for the 2-0 advantage. UMFK would net its third of the day in the 14th minute following a point-blank save by Mountaineer freshman Cody Gross (Fair Lawn, New Jersey); the rebound found the feet of Bengal senior Willie Monthe (Montreal, Quebec) who made a soft touch and slotted the ball into the back of the net to go up 3-0.
That's where the score stood through most of the second half before Fort Kent put in its fourth of the day, a goal by sophomore Milton Christopher (St. Elizabeth, Jamaica). Christopher took a pass from classmate Ben Kluvers (Vernon Hills, Illinois) and drilled the ball into the lower left corner of the net for his third goal of the season, putting the Bengals up 4-0 at the 80:26 mark.
The Mountaineers did not give up, however, and continued to push towards the net and take chances when they found them in the second half. Finally, in the 83rd minute, the hosts broke through to get on the scoreboard on a great finish by senior Erik Argueta (Pico Rivera, Calif.). Argueta collected the ball at the top of the box on the right side of the field and carried it left, trying to get a look at goal through the Fort Kent defenders. He took one last touch to push it just wide enough for an open chance and pulled the trigger, placing the ball perfectly with his left foot, curling it towards the right side of the frame and past UMFK freshman backup keeper Ahkeim Forbes (St. Elizabeth, Jamaica) for his first official goal of the season; Argueta had scored two in a game against Pine Manor College last week, a game that was decided would not count for overall records and statistics as PMC had not yet reached NCAA varsity status.
The Bengals added their last of the day with four and half minutes to go in the game, a blast from the top of the box by junior Jesse Shelton (Ingersoll, Ontario) off a loose ball, his first goal of the year.
After seeing only three fouls in the first half, all being committed by UMFK, the game's temperament picked up in the second stanza as the Bengals and Mountaineers were called for six and five fouls, respectively.
Fort Kent sophomore goalie Jamie Cleland (Dunfermline, Scotland) picked up the win after posting a scoreless first half in net to improve to 4-0 on the season. Gross recorded eight saves in the loss (0-6).
Southern Vermont (0-6) hits the road Wednesday for its next match, a 7 p.m. tilt at Norwich University that will serve as final preparations for the Mountaineers as they head into New England Collegiate Conference action next weekend. Fort Kent (8-0) returns home from its Vermont trip for a 1 p.m. game on Sunday against Fisher College.