UMaine upsets Brown> Gray’s first goal comes at good time

ORONO – University of Maine sophomore midfielder Kyle Gray’s frustration ended in style Wednesday afternoon at Alumni Field here.

Gray, the North Atlantic Conference’s 1993 Rookie of the Year, scored his first goal of the season with 19:55 to play, and the Black Bears hung on for a 1-0 victory over nationally ranked Brown University.

Maine is 5-2 while Brown, which entered the game ranked 16th in the nation and second in New England, fell to 4-2.

“This was a huge win,” said Maine senior midfielder Bobby Strong. “By beating a nationally ranked team, maybe we’ll get some respect.”

“In order to earn respect, these are the types of teams you have to beat,” said Maine coach Scott Atherley. “I think this is the first time Maine has ever beaten a nationally ranked team. We capitalized on our chance and did a great job defending. We didn’t give anything away.”

It was the third consecutive year Maine has shut out Brown.

The goal came a few minutes after Strong saved the day at the other end of the field by clearing Darren Eales’ goal-bound shot around the post to the right of Maine goalie Jeremy Dube.

Dube, who finished with four saves on 17 shots, would not have gotten to Eales’ shot.

Moments later, Gray scored.

“I’ve been frustrated. I’ve definitely been getting chances but I’ve hit goalposts and crossbars,” said Gray. “It’s nice to finally get on the scoreboard.”

Strong picked up the assist on Gray’s goal.

The play leading to the goal began with a corner kick by Paulo Nunes. The ball eventually wound up on Gray’s foot at the other side of the penalty area and to the left of Brown goalie Tim Webb, who saved three of Maine’s 15 shots.

“I began to dribble but the ball rolled too far away from me. It went to Bobby and he toed it to me,” said Gray, who was within 10 yards of the net when he took the shot. “I put it up top because if I had taken a low shot, it might have gotten deflected.”

Webb had little chance on Gray’s rising blast before the ball nestled behind the crossbar.

Brown, which dominated the second half and generated several chances, pressed for the equalizer. But Dube and Maine’s back four of sweeper Jared Morse, stopper Paul Kelly and marking backs Dusty Perkins and Gige Sherry withstood the pressure.

Gray’s goal came on one of Maine’s only two good scoring opportunities in the second half. Jake Ouimet had flicked a shot over the crossbar earlier.

The Bruins’ best chance had come on Eales’ 14-yard shot just prior to the Gray goal.

“The ball had bounced around and hit my hand so I thought the referee was going to call a handball. He didn’t call it so I took the shot and their player cleared it,” said Eales.

“I didn’t see the ball until the last moment,” Strong said. “I just tried to get my foot on it. I was lucky I didn’t put it in my own net.”

Both teams generated good chances in the first half but failed to convert.

Dube made a couple of nice stops on midfielder Gary Hughes, getting his hands on a 16-yarder from the right side and on a 10-yard chip shot.

Maine’s Dan Noblet volleyed a Gray pass towards the far corner only to have a diving Webb gather it in.

“We played very well. We dominated the second half,” said Brown Coach Trevor Adair. “But Maine hung in there, they worked very hard and they capitalized on their chance. We had a bit of bad luck.”