After eight days of rest and practice, the men’s soccer team returned to the pitch on Wednesday to defeat Husson University, 4-0, at home.
With this triumph the Polar Bears have won consecutive games for the first time this season and improve their record to 4-3 overall. Sam Ward ’18 opened the scoring in the 26th minute after Connor Keefe ’16 found Ward open at the top of the box. He took a shot that hooked just under the crossbar to give Bowdoin a 1-0 lead.
Ben Citrin ’16 doubled the Polar Bear lead just before halftime with a fantastic individual effort. After his initial shot rebounded off the post Citrin regained possession and found the back of the net the second time, giving the Polar Bears a 2-0 lead. Citrin finished the game with a goal and two assists.
Bowdoin scored again in the 54th minute when captain Eric Goitia ’15 headed a corner kick from Citrin into the goal for his second score of the season. The scoring ended just seven minutes later when Citrin and Kiefer Solarte ’16 worked the ball into the middle of the box for Colton Hall ’16, who scored for the first time this season.
“We focused a lot this week on getting shots on target,” said Goitia. “We did that a lot yesterday and tested the keeper a lot, which was a good collective effort from the whole team.”
The loss snapped the Eagles’ four game win streak, and brought them to 6-4 overall. Bowdoin controlled possession for most of the game, finishing with 34 total shots and 16 on goal, while Husson finished with just two shots, both on goal.
“It was a pretty complete game,” said Goitia. “We did well defensively and scored four goals offensively. We did a good job controlling possession and finished our opportunities when we got them. I think we had a good performance against UNE last week too.”
Bowdoin has shut out their opponents in each of the last two games. Having complete games from start to finish has been one of their goals since the beginning of the season, according to Goita.
“We’re taking it one game at a time right now,” Goitia said. “Obviously every win is good and builds confidence, but we’re excited to get back in the NESCAC and prove that we’re a contender in our league.”
The Polar Bears are currently 1-3 in conference play and have a chance to raise their record at noon tomorrow in a crucial match against Trinity.