BANGOR – The Husson College men’s soccer game Wednesday against the University of Maine-Fort Kent marked the first time a game was played on the new FieldTurf surface at Boucher Field.

UMFK won 1-0.

For the most part, the surface received a solid endorsement from players on the two teams.

“You can’t even compare it to last year’s [grass] field,” said Husson freshman striker Peter Alexander of Hampden.

“It’s a little quicker but every bounce is true. There aren’t any bad bounces. The ball doesn’t hit bumps and pop up or anything like that. And it’s real easy on the legs.

“We’re definitely grateful Mr. [John] Boucher did this for us,” added Alexander.

Boucher donated some of the money for the project, which cost in the vicinity of $600,000-$700,000.

Husson junior midfielder Nattapong Kongsuriya called it “awesome.

“It’s nice and soft. And the field is nice and wide now,” said Kongsuriya.”This was my first time on artificial grass,” said UMFK Jamaican midfielder Walford Stewart. “It was good. It was very different. The thing I liked most about it was when the ball came to you, there weren’t any [bad] bounces.”

He said the only thing that gave him problems was he had to judge the pace of his passes because the ball is faster on turf.

“There wasn’t anything I didn’t like about it,” said Stewart.

UMFK goalie Derick Plourde said the ball “runs very true. It doesn’t bounce all over the place. I liked it.”

Husson junior fullback Jeff Truchon, who was playing his first game on an artificial surface, said it will “take some time to get used to. It wasn’t too bad. The ball skips around. There’s really no mistakes. It’s pretty convenient. It’s definitely a lot quicker.”

UMFK sweeper Giovanni Sinclair doesn’t care for it.

“It’s very stressful on the legs,” said Sinclair.

DeBeck notches 100th victory

Husson College volleyball coach Pat DeBeck picked up his 100th career victory Wednesday night, as the Eagles defeated North Atlantic Conference foe UMaine-Farmington 3-0.

DeBeck has coached the Eagles the last eight seasons, guiding them to four consecutive NAC postseason appearances with a 24-14 conference record during that span.

In addition to those accolades, DeBeck’s Husson teams piled up three straight 20-win seasons from 2003-05.

SMCC names Roak to posts

Rebecca Roak of Portland, who spent 2006-07 at the University of Maine-Machias, has been hired as the head women’s basketball coach and assistant athletic director at Southern Maine Community College in South Portland.

Roak will oversee SMCC’s recreation program, sports information and student labor staff. She replaces Hampden native Amanda Rodgerson, who left this summer to become the head women’s basketball coach at Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston.

USM announces fall captains

Alyson Lumino of Hampden is among three players who will serve as captains for the University of Southern Maine field hockey team this fall.

Lumino, a former Hampden Academy standout, started 21 games at midfield for the Huskies last season, notching a goal and an assist. She is joined by Samm Johnson of Mexico and Cristina Corson of Naples.