Maine Maritime Men's Soccer Splits Two Games on Vermont Trip

Game 1: Saturday

Johnson, Vt. (September 27, 2008) – Johnson State moved to 6-3 overall on the season but more importantly 2-0 in North Atlantic Conference play with a 1-0 shutout of visiting Maine Maritime Academy on Saturday at Minaert Field.

The game was an evenly played, physical match until the 65th minute when Emil Albright (Romania/Lamoille Union) crossed a pass into the box where Ryan Demars (Morrisville, Vt./Peoples Academy) collected it and blasted it past MMA (2-5, 0-2 NAC) keeper Jeff Butland (Cumberland, Maine) for the game’s only score.

Johnson State outshot the Mariners on the day 13-4 but needed diving two-handed save from keeper Andy Lane (Charlotte, Vt./Champlain Valley Union) late in the game to preserve the shutout victory.

Lane made four stops on the day while Butland turned away five shots for Maine Maritime.

Johnson State will be on the pitch again on Sunday hosting another NAC foe in Husson University at noon while MMA travels east to play Lyndon State College also at noon.

Game 2: Sunday

LYNDON CENTER, Vt. (September 28, 2008)– The Lyndon State College men’s soccer team closed out a weekend of North Atlantic Conference play at the LSC Athletic Field with a tough 1-0 loss to Maine Maritime Academy Sunday.

In a closely-contested game, where both teams had numerous chances to score, the Mariners managed to break through the stalemate and record a 1-0 victory to up their overall record to 4-5 and 1-2 in the NAC.

Less than 10 minutes into the second half, MMA striker Nate Tipton ran down a loose ball in the penalty area and drilled a shot toward the far side of the Lyndon State goal. As LSC goalkeeper Ian Oliver came off his line to play the ball, the shot inadvertently caromed off Hornet defender Emmett Richmond into the back of the net for the lone goal of the contest.

Mariners’ goalie Jeff Butland stopped seven shots to record the shutout and the duo of Oliver and Jeff Giroux, who started the game for Lyndon, combined to make five saves in the game. LSC outshot Maine Maritime by a margin of 14-9.