SOUTH PORTLAND, MAINE – The Southern Maine Community College (SMCC) men's soccer team battled to a thrilling 3-3 draw against USCAA DI opponent University of Maine at Fort Kent on Sunday afternoon at the Wainwright Sports Complex.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

The visiting Bengals struck first, scoring in the 17th minute when Deandre Smith finished a feed from Christopher McKenzie. Just six minutes later, McKenzie added a goal of his own to double the lead and put SMCC on the back foot early.

The Seawolves responded in the 33rd minute when freshman Kaden Pillsbury (Strong, Maine) buried a chance set up by Jaxon Olsen (Gardiner, Maine), halving the deficit before the break.

Coming out of halftime, SMCC wasted no time finding the equalizer. Just over two minutes into the second half, Sean-Marley Rwabira (Cumberland, Maine) knotted the match at 2-2 with a composed finish following a clever assist from junior captain Tim Eulenberger (Iffezheim, Germany).

Fort Kent answered quickly, with Smith netting his second goal in the 49th minute to reclaim the lead, but the Seawolves weren't done.

In the 61st minute, senior Jil-Emmanuel Sehr (Loganville, Georgia) capitalized from the penalty spot to level the score at 3-3. Despite both teams pushing for a winner, neither side could break through again in the final 30 minutes.

SMCC matched Fort Kent's intensity all match long and had several strong scoring opportunities, including late chances from Louis Sehr (Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire) and Nick Simon Mboumba (Portland, Maine), both of whom tested the Bengals' keeper down the stretch.

BETWEEN THE POSTS:

Sophomore Ethan Homa (Westbrook, Maine) played all 90 minutes in goal and made five saves to help secure the result for the Seawolves.

NEXT UP:

SMCC (3-0-1) will continue its season when they host Central Maine Community College on Thursday, September 18. Kickoff is slated for 4:00 PM at Wainwright Sports Complex.