Bengals beat Raiders 2-0

FORT KENT - Fort Kent's Bengals soccer team won their first game of the season on Thursday night before a sizable opening crowd.

Several fans sitting in the stands noted that Robert Wesleyan College would be a challenge for the University of Maine at Fort Kent.  By the end of the first half of Thursday night's game, even though no team had scored, it was obvious the home team was dominating the field.

The Bengals kept the ball pressed into Raider territory for much of the first half of the game, making several attempts at the goal.  None of the attempts succeeded, however.

Coach Bill Ashby noted that the Bengals looked strong, but he said it would still take scores to win the game.

Soon after the start of the second half, Keith Williams, a junior from Trinidad and Tobago, slammed the first goal past an airborne goalie, Eric Read.

FIRST GOAL - Keith Williams II shoots a ball past a near-horizontal Eric Read during Thursday's opening season game.  The UMFK Bengals went on to take the win with a score of 2-0.  - Birden photo

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Ashby called out from the sidelines, "We're not satisfied with one.  Let's go again."

Fifteen minutes later, Team Captain Andre Anderson, with an assist from Luka Odak, rolled the second goal past the Raider defense.

GOAL NUMBER TWO - Andre Anderson scores the second goal with an assist from Luka Odak. - Birden photo

Though the Raiders fought valiantly to regain the advantage, UMFK's resolution kept the lead and denied the visiting team any scores.

Ashby called the win a great start for a serious team.

He said, "We came out and did what we needed."

He said the back four did extremely well and the two forwards, Anderson and Williams, did a great job.

He noted that Robert Wesleyan College represented a sturdy challenge for UMFK, calling them "...one of the strongest teams to start."

The men's team faces Husson College in bangor on September 1.

The women play their first game on September 3, at UMFK beginning at 1 p.m.