Augusta, ME - Two days after a tough matchup at home vs UMFK, the Mustangs took to the road for their first away game of the season. It was a short trip up the road for a historic matchup against the University of Maine at Augusta Moose, who were playing their first game since dropping soccer back in 2014.
Mustangs coach Rob Rodriguez cautioned his team going into the match, "Just because they are a startup program we are not to take them lightly. They have an excellent coach who put the time in to assemble her roster and she will coach them up well."
Battling extreme heat for the second time this week, the Mustangs delayed their arrival in Augusta so they could shorten their normal pregame routine and conserve energy.
With only one change in the back line to their starting lineup Central Maine jumped out to a 1-0 lead five minutes into the game when Alexis Finn (Wales, ME) sent a ball through the Moose back line to find Lakyn Hink (Porter, ME) who sent a low left foot shot to the far corner to put the Mustangs up. The Central Maine attack threatened a number of times throughout the first 20-minutes but could not find the net again until a long ball out of the back found Hink at midfield who crossed it to Finn breaking down the right side of the field beating the Moose keeper to put the Mustangs up 2-0. The game went back and forth for the remainder of the half with Central Maine taking a 2-0 lead into the break.
The second half began with the Mustangs resting many of the starters and the Moose threatened a number of times early in the half before Central Maine regained control of the play. In the 68th minute, freshman Sarah Labbe (Biddeford, ME) drove into the right corner of the penalty area and put a cross through the box where Aspen Stevens (Dalton, NH) came running on with a one-touch left foot shot to put the Mustangs up 3-0. The game would continue with no further scoring and the Mustangs gaining a win in their first conference matchup of the season. Goalkeepers Emma Knowles (Manchester, ME) and Ava Simpson (Lewiston, ME) split duties with Knowles making one save in the first half and Simpson two in the second half to secure the shutout. Central Maine outshot the Moose 19 to 3.
The Mustangs hit the road again for the second matchup of the week against USCAA Div I defending national champions University of Maine at Fort Kent on Friday at noon.
