The call that saved a season

KENNEBUNK — For five seconds, the season was over for the Kennebunk boys soccer team.

With less than three seconds to play in overtime, Windham had just slipped a shot past goalie Christian Elkington, giving the Eagles the 2-1 win. Windham fans erupted in the stands, but were silenced just as quickly.

Thanks to an offsides call on the Eagles, the goal was disallowed, ending the game with a 1-1 tie.

“If they didn’t call that offsides, our chances of making the playoffs were slim-to-none,” said Kennebunk captain Dan Snyder. “My heart dropped.”

Now at 7-4-2, and thanks to a 1-0 Greely loss to Waynflete on Thursday, Kennebunk is all but assured a spot in the Western Class A playoffs, so long as they win the last game of the season against Noble (4-8-1) on Oct. 19. It also means the Rams are destined to once again play the Eagles, as Kennebunk is currently the No. 8 seed, while Windham (7-4-2) is the No. 9 seed.

“[Windham] has more [Heal] points on the table for the last game of the season, so it’s going to be interesting,” Kennebunk head coach Nathan Bean said. “It’s going to be tight like it was last year. Last year I was making phone calls on the ride home from Noble trying to figure out what was going on.”

The Eagles kept the pressure on the Rams through most of the first half, and took a 1-0 lead halfway through when Brian Soucy knocked in a header on a cross pass. The score remained 1-0 going into halftime.

A play that may have saved the Rams from Windham taking a 2-0 lead came early in the first half. Windham was given the opportunity for a free kick after a penalty, but with the Eagles moving slow on the approach on the kick, Ben Johnson of Kennebunk was able to knock the ball away, taking away the opportunity for the kick to be made.

Not much needed to be said to the Rams at halftime.

“We just needed to keep pushing and keep believing,” Bean said. “They did a nice job.”

With the season on the line, the Rams came back rejuvenated in the second half, bringing the pressure onto Windham. With eight minutes left to play in regulation, Snyder slipped a shot between two Windham defenders, and Eagles goalie Ben Noble, to tie the game 1-1.

“I was surprised when it happened,” Snyder said. “But good things happen when you shoot the ball at the net.”

The Rams almost scored another goal late in the half, but Noble made a diving stop on a shot to steal any chance at a lead.

Neither team had many opportunities to score in overtime before the non-goal call against Windham at the end.

Kennebunk will host Noble in a 6 p.m. contest on Oct. 19.

“[The Noble game] is huge,” Snyder said. “We need a result. And we’re going to get it.”

Sign In: