BANGOR — Jarryd Phillips didn’t figure in the scoring in the University of Maine-Fort Kent’s impressive 6-0 win over Husson University at Boucher Field on Wednesday afternoon.
But Phillips, a midfielder who was moved to stopper to compensate for the loss of injured Damion Stone, made a potential goal-saving play late in the first half with the score 2-0 and teammate Amine El Moumen scored less than a minute later to give the Bengals some valuable breathing room on the sultry day.
Senior striker and captain Andre Anderson had a hat trick and set up Jermaine West’s game-opening goal with an assist off a corner kick and West had two goals and an assist as UM-Fort Kent improved to 2-0.
It was Husson’s opener.
Trailing 2-0, Husson striker Greg Dawson had the ball in the right side of the penalty area and cleverly moved past a defender to put himself in a one-on-one situation with goalkeeper David Girouard.
Dawson was about to put the ball into the open far corner with his left foot when Phillips slid across to get his foot on the ball and deflect it away.
“I just tried to get over [as quickly as I could],” said Phillips.
“I took too long,” said Dawson.
Dawson had a glorious chance in the opening minute of play when James Crockford lofted a perfect diagonal cross to him inside the penalty area.
“I tried to control it but it went off my thigh and then I tried to smash it in,” said Dawson.
Girouard scrambled off his line and smothered the shot.
Dawson said if he had had two more weeks under his belt and was in better game shape, he might have finished both chances.
“I would have first-timed the first one,” he said.
UM-Fort Kent, ranked 11th in the preseason NAIA national poll, opened the scoring 9:57 into the game when an unmarked West beat helpless Husson goalie Miguel Dominguez with a powerful 10-yard header off Anderson’s corner.
The duo teamed up again, this time West slid a diagonal pass to Anderson in the left side of the box and he chipped it over the on-rushing Dominguez.
“He was coming straight at me,” said Anderson.
El Moumen made it 3-0 with 2:37 remaining in the half, right after the Phillips block, when he scampered unattended to the far post and steered Oniqueky Samuels’ errant shot inside the near post.
UMFK scored three times in the final 18:59 as West converted a direct free kick just outside the penalty area by curling it inside the near post.
“I’ve been working on it a lot,” said West.
Anderson capped the scoring with goals 29 seconds apart.
“It was a very good win,” said Anderson. “We had a good team effort all over the field.”
UMFK capitalized on its superior speed, skill and experience to generate a 37-10 edge in shot attempts and an 18-3 margin in shots on goal.
Girouard finished with three saves. Dominguez had four on 15 shots in the first half and Mason Smith made eight on 22 shots in the second half.
Husson first-year coach Jeff Gettler took responsibility for the loss.
“I didn’t prepare us well,” he said.