USM Pair Tops in LEC

DeHaan, Burnham Named Offensive Players of the Week

Oct. 8, 2009

GORHAM, Maine -- Two University of Southern Maine juniors were recognized by the Little East Conference earlier this week.

Midfielder Heidi DeHaan (Lewiston, Maine) played a major role in the women’s soccer team’s first Little East Conference win of the season on Saturday, and was recognized for that effort Monday when she was named the conference Offensive Player of the Week.

On the men’s side, midfielder Alex Burnham was given the same award.

DeHaan scored the game-tying goal and assisted on the game winner in the final six minutes of regulation time to help the Huskies post a 3-2 victory over the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. The win was the Huskies first against an LEC opponent since October, 2007 and snapped a four-game losing streak.

Only seconds after UMass-Dartmouth had taken a 2-1 lead, DeHaan took the ball along the left side, beat a defender and put a well-placed 15-yard shot past the UMD goalkeeper to tie the game. Less than two minutes later, DeHaan chased down a loose ball at the end line and crossed it across the goalmouth where freshman Catherine Wise (Cape Elizabeth, Maine) directed it into the goal for a 3-2 lead.

In 10 matches this season, DeHaan has scored three goals and picked up one assist for seven points. This is the first time in her three-year career at USM that DeHaan has received a weekly citation from the Little East.

In the men’s team’s lone match last week, Burnham (North Yarmouth, Maine) had a hand in all three goals as the Huskies defeated Colby College for the first time since 1982, 3-0. Burnham tallied what proved to be the game-winning goal in the fifth minute of play, and later assisted on a goal in the 23rd minute to stake the Huskies to a 2-0 lead at the break. He added another assist on the final goal in the 51st minute.

The goal was the first of the season for Burnham. He now shares the team lead for assists (3) with junior Nick Johnson (South Portland, Maine) and senior Peter McHugh (Scarborough, Maine).

Burnham is the second USM men’s player to receive Little East weekly accolades this season. Junior goalkeeper David Kreps (Agawam, Mass.) was named Goalkeeper of the Week last week.

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