Stockford, Forgett lift UM to win Black Bears trip up Sacred Heart 3-2

ORONO – Contrary to his last name, the University of Maine’s sophomore midfielder was having no problems with his memory on a balmy and breezy Saturday afternoon.

The image of missing a point-blank shot at the net with a kick that sailed about two feet too high 161/2 minutes earlier was still replaying itself in Kevin Forgett’s head when he took a pass from Matt Bernal on the right side of the field with 81/2 minutes left in the soccer game.

Forgett took the pass on the right flank and crossed it over to the left side and a wide-open Luke Rivard, who steadied the ball, waited for goalie Jason Roeder to commit, and then drilled a shot to the upper left corner of the net for the deciding goal in Maine’s 3-2 win over Sacred Heart University at Alumni Field.

“I felt like I needed to make up for that miss,” said Forgett. “It was frustrating. We had a bunch of chances. I had one I was almost positive I put away, but we didn’t get down on each other and kept going at them.

“I think this is a turning point. After losing to Harvard 3-0 and tying Dartmouth, this game just brought us up again.”

The Pioneers played a man short for the final 13 minutes after forward Glenn Wilken was given his second yellow card of the game for a foul.

Given Maine’s 25-7 shot advantage in the game, a loss or even a tie would have been a bitter disappointment for the Black Bears, who evened their record at 4-4-1 as they head into America East conference play.

Junior forward Justin Stockford, already Maine’s leading scorer with two goals, doubled his season total with two more – the first on a header from the left side off a crisp Adam Chenault pass from the left sideline six minutes into the game and the second off a sterling solo effort bound for the season highlight film.

With 29:25 left in the gameand the score tied 1-1, Stockford gained control of the ball about 35 yards outside his own goal and sped down the left side. After crossing the midfield line, he kicked it to the left sideline while eluding a defender, raced to the ball and controlled it before it went out of bounds, and kicked it ahead as another defender closed in. After beating the defender to the ball, he got the goalie to lean a bit right before kicking a shot from the middle of the field and 20 yards out into the left corner of the net to put Maine up 2-1.

“I think he tripped and I just used my speed,” Stockford said. “The goalie came out on me, so I just tapped it around him.”

The 1-4-5 Pioneers tied it 21 seconds later on another shot from the left by freshman forward Sylvester Kaar, who scored both Pioneer goals.

Roeder made four saves on 15 shots while Chris Marchese saved six of 10. Maine’s Chad Mongeon made one save.