PORTLAND—A year ago, Brunswick’s boys’ soccer team lost a last-minute heartbreaker in the Class A state final.
Fast forward to Saturday afternoon at Deering High’s Memorial Field, where the Dragons appeared destined for another painful setback in the state game, this time to Scarborough.
Brunswick trailed by a goal with under 13 minutes to play, but rose off the deck and became the team celebrating at the final horn.
The Red Storm jumped out to a 1-0 lead when senior Jack Moreau continued his strong postseason play with a goal in the 27th minute.
Scarborough then had some great chances to extend its lead in the second half, but couldn’t do so, and the Dragons made the Red Storm pay.
With 12:48 to play, senior captain Jack Banks finished to tie the score.
Then, with just 37.3 seconds remaining in regulation, off a Banks corner kick, senior Luke Patterson was in the right place at the right time to send Brunswick to the Promised Land, as he scored the program’s biggest goal this century.
The Dragons held on from there and won the Class A state title, 2-1.
Brunswick finished the year 14-3-1, handed Scarborough just its second loss in 18 games and won the program’s first Gold Ball since 1999 and its seventh all-time.
“We’re just a fighting team,” Banks said. “We’re always underestimated, but we fight every single game. We go into every game believing we’re the better team and that’s what gets us results. We knew the feeling we had last year and none of us wanted it again.”
Red Storm vs. red-hot
Scarborough got pushed to the brink in its run to a regional title, while Brunswick got through a deep Class A North field in most impressive fashion.
The Red Storm, who lived up to preseason billing as a favorite in Class A South, won their first 13 regular season games, then closed with a home loss to Deering (see sidebar for links to previous stories).
As the top seed, Scarborough had to get past dangerous No. 9 Falmouth in the quarterfinals (rallying from an early deficit to do so, 2-1), hold off a talented, fourth-ranked Gorham squad in the semifinals (prevailing, 2-0), then survive No. 6 Windham in an overtime thriller in the regional final (2-1).
The Dragons, meanwhile, lost regular season games to Edward Little, Lewiston and Mt. Ararat and also tied Bangor.
As the No. 3 seed, Brunswick eked out a 1-0 win over Brewer in the quarterfinals, then went to Topsham and beat arch-rival No. 2 Mt. Ararat, 2-0, in the semifinals. Tuesday, against No. 4 Lewiston in the Class A North Final, the Dragons broke open a close game at halftime and rolled to a shockingly decisive 6-0 victory to advance to the state final for the second consecutive year.
Scarborough had won 10 of 13 prior state game appearances, with 12 of them coming in Class A and one in Class B (see sidebar for previous results). The Red Storm hadn’t been on the big stage since a 1-0 loss to Lewiston in 2015, however.
Brunswick had also played in 13 previous state finals, but had won just six of them, with the most recent Gold Ball coming way back in 1999. Last season, the Dragons lost to Marshwood on a goal with two minutes to go.
The Dragons and Red Storm met in the 2009 state game, where goals from Trevor Hoxsie and Chase Beech propelled Scarborough to a 2-1 victory (Peter Morrell scored for Brunswick).
Scarborough also defeated Brunswick in the 1975 Western A semifinals (5-0) and the 1976 Western A semifinal round (3-2).
Saturday, in front of a huge crowd on an almost-too-good-to-be-true early-November afternoon (73 degrees at kickoff), it was clear early that there wasn’t much separation between the squads and that the game would come down to the wire.
The Red Storm started strong and threatened to strike early, but junior Dillon MacLeod’s corner serve was cleared away, junior Kilson Joao, the regional final hero, missed just wide and Dragons’ senior goalkeeper Brady LaForge beat Joao to a through ball from senior Dillon Wilkinson.
Scarborough then struck with 13:20 left in the first half, as senior Cooper Johnson served the ball in from the right side and senior Will Fallona managed to head the ball on frame and after LaForge saved that shot but couldn’t hold it, Moreau pounced on the rebound and sent it home for a 1-0 lead.
Late in the half, Brunswick hoped to answer, but senior Iain Clendening had a shot blocked in the box and Clendening headed a long Banks free kick just wide, allowing the Red Storm to hold an advantage at the break.
The Dragons came out strong in the second half, but Patterson headed a cross from senior Liam Driscoll wide and Driscoll and senior Max Hamilton both missed the mark.
Scarborough then had some great chances to double its lead, but after eluding two defenders and going one-on-one with LaForge, Joao couldn’t get much on his shot leading to an easy save, Fallona missed just wide with a lot of net to shoot at and LaForge robbed sophomore Matt Fallona on the doorstep.
With under 15 minutes remaining, Brunswick found another gear and it would close the game in breathtaking fashion.
After Red Storm senior Ashton Blanchette broke up a Banks rush, Banks got another chance and with 12:48 on the clock, he fired a one-timer with his left foot past Scarborough senior goalie Nick Ouellette to tie the score.
“We’re senior-laden and we knew we had to turn it around,” Banks said. “The ball just came out to me. We hadn’t gotten enough shots off. I trusted myself to score and I just hit it. The defense kept us in the game and we just needed one goal.”
As they did in the regional final after giving up the tying goal, the Red Storm looked to quickly counter, but LaForge punched away a long free kick from senior Parker Killiard, LaForge won a race with Joao to a loose ball and was fouled in the process, then LaForge denied a shot from Will Fallona and saved a long free kick from Killiard with 2:54 on the clock.
Brunswick managed to get one more offensive possession and it proved to be simply golden.
With the clock ticking under a minute, the Dragons earned a corner kick and Banks did the honors, serving it into the box, where the ball was knocked around until it came out to Patterson.
With 37.3 seconds remaining, Patterson crushed a one-timer with his left foot and it got past Ouellette and tickled the twine for a 2-1 lead.
“I was at the back post at the corner,” said Patterson. “The ball bounced once to me and I hit it on the volley. I just full-powered it, that’s what I like to do. It was just hysteria after.”
“We worked on corners the day before and we needed to execute one,” Banks said. “It took us some time to do it. The last kick of the game, we got one. That kid scores every time he gets the ball in the box. He’s very clutch. I trust him to score from anywhere at any time in the game.”
“That kid’s got icewater in his veins,” added Brunswick coach Mark Roma.
Scarborough was pushed to the brink, but to its credit, mustered one final push and with 23 seconds to go, Moreau got his head on the ball, but LaForge made the save.
The Dragons were able to drain the clock from there and at 4:36 p.m., erupted in celebration when their 2-1 victory was official.
“This is fantastic,” Banks said. “I’ve grown up with all these boys. The seniors have played soccer together our entire lives. To win with them, the feeling is just indescribable.”
“There are so many emotions right now,” Patterson said. “I’m just happy to win with the boys. Our team has a great mentality. We never get down on ourselves.”
“I’m so happy to bring a Gold Ball back to the community,” Roma added. “I knew I wouldn’t have to pump anybody up. We had a game plan going in. We were hoping for nil-nil at halftime, but even though we were down, there was no fear in their eyes. They knew what they had to do and we came out and executed. We wanted to hold on and make a push in the second half. When you get to this point, both teams are good and have been battle-tested. It’s about the kids who are willing to step up and not be afraid. There’s no fear at all in these boys.”
Brunswick has now won state titles in boys’ hockey, boys’ lacrosse and boys’ soccer in the past eight months. Several members of the soccer team won titles in one or both of the other sports.
“Those other championships helped us a lot,” Patterson said. “They helped the nerves too.”
LaForge stopped 10 shots for the Dragons, who held an 8-4 edge in corner kicks.
From ecstasy to agony
Scarborough finished with an 11-4 shots advantage and got two saves from Ouellette. The Red Storm were a mere 12-plus minutes from their first championship in seven seasons, but ultimately, it wasn’t to be.
“There were just some bad bounces,” lamented longtime Scarborough coach Mark Diaz. “Brunswick’s a good team. Credit to them. They never quit. I think my guys played well today overall. I’m happy how we created chances.
“I’m very proud of the guys. Everyone thought we’d just be OK this year. My senior class got us this far. They took it to another level all year. To go 16-2 with our schedule, that’s quite an accomplishment.
“Overall, this season was a tremendous success.”
Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @foresports.
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