New London — The defense had just put up a zero and Admiral Karl Schultz, Commandant of the Unites States Coast Guard, was addressing the winning team.

Schultz, in attendance for Homecoming Weekend and also to see his son Eric play for the Bears, gave Coast Guard junior defensive back Mike Goldsworthy, who finished with three interceptions, a coveted challenge coin to commemorate his achievement. He called Goldsworthy to come forward in front of his huddled teammates.

“That's awesome,” Goldsworthy said. “A challenge coin from the commandant is about the biggest challenge coin anybody could receive. It's nice to be able to put on a great show for everyone coming back.”

Coast Guard, despite leading by only a safety headed to the fourth quarter, defeated Maine Maritime 15-0 Saturday before 3,875 fans at Cadet Memorial Field, the first shutout of the year.

The Bears, 5-2 overall, 3-1 in the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference, held Maine Maritime to 125 yards offense.

Meanwhile, Coast Guard coach Bill George waved off the opportunity to address his team in the huddle after Schultz's words.

“Everybody was waiting for me to say something,” George said with a smile. “I'm not following the Commandant of the Coast Guard. He had some really nice things to say. He made the team proud. That's a big thing for us.”

The victory gave Coast Guard a three-way share of second place in the NEWMAC with Springfield and Merchant Marine headed into next week's game against unbeaten MIT, which has a hold on first place.

Coast Guard took a 2-0 lead with 1 minute, 50 seconds remaining in the first half when Maine Maritime, on third-and-3 from the 20, executed a bad snap, sailing over the head quarterback Zackery Brannon. Brannon fell on the ball in the end zone.

The defense continued to hold through the third quarter, the end of which saw Coast Guard put together a significant drive, giving the Bears first-and-10 on the Maine Maritime 16-yard line. On that drive, the Bears rushed nine times for 52 yards, powering the ball down the field behind quarterback Ryan Jones and the running back tandem of Chris Gardner and Jon Wagner.

On the first play of the fourth quarter, however, Jones threw an interception to Maine Maritime's Kyle Pavone in the end zone.

George said that drive was significant for two reasons, though.

“I think we stuck to the ground a little bit. We got a little vanilla and that helped us,” George said. “… When they were coming off (after that drive), they matured. Instead of being frustrated, guys were calm. They said, 'We're going to do it again.'”

And they did. On the next series, Gardner capped a 36-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run and Cole Austin made the kick to up the lead to 9-0. Goldsworthy followed with his third interception of Brannon and, with 5:56 remaining, Justin Moffatt ran a reverse 42 yards down the left sideline for a 15-0 advantage.

Goldsworthy is the first Coast Guard player to finish with three interceptions since Mark Behne in 2015, also against Maine Maritime. The picks were the first of the season for him.

“I never doubted the defense one time throughout the whole game,” Goldsworthy said. “We watched a lot of film and had a great week of practice. Everybody treated it like (0-5 Maine Maritime was the) No. 1 team in the country.”

Gardner led the rushing attack with 22 carries for 78 yards. Wagner had five carries for 29 yards in his first game back from a hamstring injury. Jones was 13-for-30 passing for 78 yards.

Chip Crowley punted seven times for 260 yards for the Bears (37.1 yards per kick), pinning the Mariners five times inside the 20-yard line. Linebacker Jake Behne and strong safety Mark Wicke had seven tackles each and Philip Orlando and Tommy Jones each recorded half a sack.

“Are you kidding me? It's gigantic,” George said of the Bears' win in front of the Homecoming crowd. “You have a group of people who spent their life serving the country and they get to come back and be a part of it. This isn't like going to college anywhere else. This is different.”

v.fulkerson@theday.com