(story courtesy Gordon College Sports Information)

WENHAM, Mass. -- Gordon College forward Matt Horth '11 (Akron, Ohio) scored a pair of first-half goals to lift the Fighting Scots past University of New England, 2-1, this afternoon in The Commonwealth Coast Conference (TCCC) play at the Brigham Athletic Complex on the campus of Gordon College. 

Horth put the Fighting Scots (5-4-1, 4-0-1 TCCC) on the board in the 27th minute of play when he took a cross from senior midfielder Matt Schneider (Allentown, Pa.) and drilled a shot along the ground to find the back right side of the net past UNE goalkeeper Derek Poulin '10 (Scarborough, Maine).  The Nor'easters (1-6, 0-4) struggled to find a rhythm on offense in the first half while the home team continued to find chances, taking 16 shots in the opening frame. 

With 5:54 to play in the first half, GC defender Nick Hanlon '08 (Ashburnham, Mass.) fired a shot at Poulin, who saved a goal but could not control the ball.  The rebound off Poulin came to Horth who found the top right of the cage from just outside the box to put GC on top, 2-0. 

Despite their early struggles, the Nor'easters mounted an attack which resulted in a corner kick just 1:24 after Horth put the home team up by two.  UNE midfielder Brian Cummings '10 (Bow, N.H.) took the corner kick and sent the ball into the box where defender Greg Molind '09 (Cabot, Vt.) niftily flicked the ball with his heel to beat the GC defense and put the visitors on the board, 2-1. 

Neither side would score in the final 4:30 of the half, and the scoreboard read 2-1 at the break. 

In the second half, UNE came out firing on all cylinders, playing with noticeably more intensity taking five shots in the first 20 minutes of play.  The Nor'easters would find the back of the net with 25:46 to play in the period but the goal was waved off for an offsides violation.  With 15:54 to play in the period, the Nor'easters struggled to clear the ball and Horth nearly had his third tally of the contest, but his shot sailed high and the score remained 2-1. 

In the 88th minute of play, UNE fmidfielder Ryan Ogiela '11 (Redding, Conn.) took a direct kick from just outside the GC box, which was heading straight for the net before Fighting Scots keeper Brian Schilling (Goffstown, N.H.) '09 dove and punched the ball over the crossbar to preserve the one-goal lead. 

The teams would play the final 12 minutes with few scoring opportunities, and the Scots held on for the 2-1 victory. 

Schilling finished the match with six saves, while Poulin was saddled with the loss despite stopping 10 shots. 

The Fighting Scots will travel to Boston on Saturday (Sept. 29) for a TCCC match-up with Wentworth Institute of Technology at 4:00 p.m. The Nor'easters host Eastern Nazarene College in conference action at 2:00 p.m. in Biddeford. 

Box Score 

(posted Sept. 27, 18:44 ET)