TOPSHAM — Mt. Ararat entered Tuesday’s Class A North boys high school soccer quarterfinal at Riverside Field with 11 wins and the No. 2 seed.
For more than 40 minutes, No. 7 Hampden Academy did what it wanted to do, keeping the Eagles off the scoreboard while looking for that one slip-up on the wet field.
That “slip-up” never came, and the Eagles found their footing to the tune of three second-half goals for a 3-0 victory, sending Mt. Ararat to this weekend’s semifinal round against No. 3 Bangor back at Riverside Field.
The winning goal occurred on a 50-50 ball in front of Hampden goaltender Sam Lilley. The netminder lost control of the slippery ball, with Ethan Rac gaining control and powering a shot inside the right post.
“That first goal was very important. We were able to win most of the balls, but it was a scramble,” said Rac.
“We needed to get that one, break the ice and take a deep breath, then play our game,” said Mt. Ararat (12-2-1) coach Jack Rioux. “The first playoff game is always the toughest. We had chances in the first half.”
Broncos coach Josh Stevens argued the goal, feeling Lilley had control of the ball before a collision with a Mt. Ararat players jarred the ball loose. Stevens and one of his assistants were given yellow cards, and the game took a downward spiral for the visitors after that.
“When you give a team a goal that is borderline, momentum is a funny thing and they captured it and never let go,” said Stevens after his Broncos finished the season with an 8-7 record.
Mt. Ararat kept pushing forward. Elias Theberge was tripped up in the penalty area, resulting in a penalty kick. Eagles standout Travis Nadeau calmly buried a shot past the dive of Lilley to double the Mt. Ararat lead.
“After the goal, we relaxed, got a PK goal and played our game,” said Rioux.
Scoreless 40
Hampden Academy did a solid job in keeping Mt. Ararat off the scoreboard in the first half. Defenders William Drake, Wade Brown and Logan Christian pushed Mt. Ararat forwards toward the sidelines, and Lilley made seven first-half saves.
“That was our goal,” said Stevens. “We talked at halftime about making some corrections, not be lazy in the back and move the ball. We knew that they were a great team, and we knew if we made a mistake we would get in trouble. We hoped that we could get something lucky, then stay with what we were doing.”
“It took a little bit to get into it, and the rain in the beginning changed things a bit,” added Rioux, whose Eagles picked up six corner kicks in the opening frame to turn the tide. “Once we earned the corner kicks, we got the territorial advantage.”
Mt. Ararat pushed Hampden Academy from the outset of the second half, with Eagle Max Spelke firing a low shot that had Lilley diving to his right to swat away.
The Broncos were frustrated with the officiating, with three Hampden players awarded yellow cards over a 10-minute stretch. Rioux trusted his seniors to ignore the situation and focus on the task at hand.
“I have 13 seniors, and they have been through this before. They keep their mouths shut,” Rioux said.
On the other side of the field, Eagle defenders Hayden Libby, Kody Noyes, Trevor York and Alex Bryant cut off most of Hampden’s advances.
“If you don’t have defense, you can’t get into the offensive side of the field to score,” said Rac, who made it a 3-0 game when he rose high to head a corner-kick setup from Spelke with 11:45 remaining. “We didn’t want to go home. We worked hard for the number two position, and we have lofty goals.”
“Their defenders play exceptionally well. They will be tough to beat,” Stevens said.
Now, Mt. Ararat prepares for the next round, with each step sure to be harder than the last.
“We get back to work, always trying to improve. We know whoever it is next, it will be a battle,” Rioux said.
Mt. Ararat finished with a 16-3 shot advantage and a 9-1 edge in corner kicks. Lilley made 12 saves, while Mt. Ararat netminder James Singleton turned away three shots for the shutout.
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