BIDDEFORD, Maine -- Senior Kiel Hiller (Galloway, N.J.) pocketed two goals in the opening period and started the University of New England on its way to a 4-0 win over Curry College in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) men's soccer opener played Saturday afternoon at Barbara J. Hazard Field.
The triumph was the second straight for Big Blue (2-3, 1-0 CCC), while the Colonels (2-3, 0-1) are winless in their last three outings.
UNE sophomore Steven Contestabile (Rochester, N.Y.) nearly put the hosts on the board in the 15th minute, heading a ball towards the upper left corner that Curry senior goalkeeper Brian Newsome (Lawrenceville, N.J.) got a finger on to push over the crossbar.
The Nor'easters continued to apply heavy pressure on the visitor's back line, and it was Contestabile that connected with Hiller in the 20th minute to make it 1-0. Hiller's finish from the left side of center found the upper right corner of the cage.
First-year back Zack Welsh (Sutton, Mass.) was the next one to assist on a Hiller score, lofting a lengthy pass from the left wing that the forward chased down and touched around the keeper before tapping it into the open goal.
Like Hiller, Contestabile struck for the third time in two games and increased the margin to three with the first goal of the second half. First-year Austen Bernier (Albany, N.Y.) sent a through-ball up the middle to where Contestabile had a one-on-one with the goalie, and picked the right side to hit the back of the net.
Junior Ethan Wells (Franconia, N.H.) capped the scoring 4:28 later in the 69th minute, slamming home a header off a free kick strike by sophomore Matthew Christie (Hudson, N.H.), which was taken from 35 yards out along the right sideline.
Rookie netminder Aidan McParland (Brockville, Ontario) recorded five saves to earn the shutout for UNE, which finished with a 23-15 edge in shot attempts.
Newsome made three stops for the Colonels, who are slated to visit Mount Ida College on Tuesday (3:30 p.m.).
The Nor'easters are off until next weekend when they are scheduled for a road trip to Wentworth Institute of Technology (3 p.m.).
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