Courtesy of Brian Beard

On Tuesday, the men’s soccer team (1–0–0; 0–0–0 NESCAC) cruised to a 4–0 victory over the University of New England (UNE) (0–1–1). With this win, the Polar Bears continue their  27-game win streak over the Nor’Easters. Captain Tyler Huck ’26 emphasized how the team’s offseason preparation contributed to their success.

“We stacked a lot of good practices on each other, and we’ve developed a really positive attitude and environment this year,” Huck said. “This was a really great way to display our preseason training, and we’re all just excited to be able to play a game together.”

The team’s nerves settled once Huck scored just five minutes into the first half. After a technical cross from Mateo Pacelli ’26, Huck rifled the ball into the far left corner.

“While I was very nervous, as soon as that first ball was kicked, all the nerves really went away,” midfielder Will Fowler ’27 said. “Watching Huck’s goal proved that everything we’ve been doing in the spring and preseason paid off, plus all the hard work we’ve put in at the gym and on the pitch.”

With five minutes remaining in the first half, Huck found the back of the net again. Through quick passes from Jack Banks ’27 and Cade Priestap ’29, Alden Mehta ’27 laid it off to Huck, who then finessed a shot into the bottom left.

“It was obviously good to score again and great to celebrate with the team. It’s been too long since we all played together, so I’m trying to not take those moments for granted because there’s only so many of them left,” Huck said.

The Polar Bears maintained a 2–0 lead into halftime, limiting the Nor’Easters to only three shots.

Pacelli logged his second assist of the match to start off the second half, finding Adam Prince ’28 for a header into the right side of the net. Defender Keito Ishibashi ’27 noted Prince’s goal as a clear highlight that reminded him of the promising future ahead.

“That third goal was something we worked on and it was really awesome executing it as planned,” Ishibashi said. “It made me feel reminiscent of the success we’ve had in the previous two years and it made me really hopeful for the NESCAC [tournament] and hopefully beyond.”

With just three minutes left in the match, Felipe Rueda Duran ’26 found Liam Elias ’27 on a corner kick into the box for his first collegiate goal. Head Coach Scott Wiercinski expressed excitement about Elias’ goal.

“He got right to a really dangerous spot and steered it towards goal and took advantage of a great moment to score his first collegiate goal,” Wiercinski said.

When the final whistle blew, the team rejoiced, as it not only started the season with a win but built momentum for the rest of the season. With a win under their belt, Wiercinski noted the many takeaways from this victory.

“It’s one thing to talk about things and rehearse things, but what’s important is if you can do it against opponents,” Wiercinski said. “Keeping this positive feedback loop and really hoping that the guys will keep learning along the way is what we’ll need to do if we want to do well in our conference.”

The team will travel to Waterville tomorrow to play Colby College (1–0–0; 0–0–0 NESCAC) and hopes to continue their four-game win streak against the Mules.