New London — Depending on your point of view, Connecticut College either benefitted from some good fortune or hard work.

It was more like a combination of both that decided the 38th Whale Cup men's soccer game.

The Camels put pressure on Coast Guard Academy, leading to defensive breakdowns and two own goals about a minute and a half apart in the first half.

Conn controlled possession to finish off a 2-0 victory Tuesday and improve to 25-11-2 in the series between neighboring rivals.

"What are you going to do?" Coast Guard coach Chris Parsons said. "Score twice on yourself and that's what happens."

The Camels (2-1) earned their goals even if they didn't actually put them in the net.

"Yeah, they are own goals, but we've got kids working hard and we're making good chances," Conn junior Pat Devlin said.

Backed by a stingy defense, Conn goalie Austin DaCunha recorded the shutout without having to make a save.

Both Coast Guard and Conn College are in the early stages of their development this season.

The Bears (1-5) suffered heavy losses from an NCAA tournament team. They also are dealing with injuries, missing three key players on Tuesday night.

Conn is a relatively young team relying on a mixture of veterans and underclassmen.

Both coaches walked away with some positives.

"I thought we did well," Conn coach Kenny Murphy said. "We're a young team. ... The attitude on the team has been fantastic. They're just a fantastic group to work with. They work hard every day."

Hard work and some creative play paid off early on.

Sophomore Ousmane Dieng attacked with speed on the outside and sent a cross into the box. The ball deflected off a defender and went right at goalie Billy Bragaw, a freshman out of East Lyme High School.

The spinning ball slipped under Bragaw and rolled into the goal, giving Conn a 1-0 lead with 24 minutes, 20 seconds left in the first half.

"It was one of those things that happens," Bragaw said. "You've got to learn from it, forget about it and move on."

Bad luck struck again a minute and a half later. This time, senior Ajami Gikandi's shot from the left side was accidentally redirected into the goal by a Coast Guard defender for a 2-0 edge.

Bragaw helped keep the Camels off the board in the second half, making a pair of nice saves.

"We had the lead and we had more of the game in the second half but we didn't put it away," Murphy said. "It was a good result because this is always a difficult game. It's a rivalry."

Parsons hopes his Bears shake their string of recent bad luck. They've struggled to produce offensively, scoring only one goal in their five losses.

Finishing has been an issue.

In the opening minutes Tuesday, senior Lukas Benedetto broke free just inside the box but fired wide left.

"That's sort of been the story of our season," Parsons said. We're not a 1-5 team, but that's our record right now and that's who we are. ... We are learning how to compete. And hopefully by learning how to compete, we will learn how to win."

g.keefe@theday.com

Twitter: @GavinKeefe