WINDHAM — Windham Coach Jeff Neal told his senior striker Nick Marion that a goal was on the way, moments after Marion had split two Deering defenders with a brilliant move but had placed his shot well wide of the frame.
“It’s going to come,” Neal said.
Neal’s encouraging comment was more than a feeling. It was prophetic. Ten minutes later Marion tied Tuesday’s Class A South boys’ soccer game against Deering with 17:55 to play. While Deering was still deflated, Jack Henry scored the winner 40 seconds later, one-timing a crisp cross from Carter Engelman that was right at Henry’s foot.
The two-goal flurry was the difference as Windham remained the last unbeaten team in A South with a 2-1 victory, improving to 10-0-1. Deering slipped to 6-2-2 and has lost two straight and is 1-2-1 in its last four games.
“It’s really just our team’s mindset,” Marion said. “We never feel like we’re out of it, we always feel like we have a good chance.”
Engelman initiated the tying goal with a throw-in from midfield that took a funny squirt along the natural grass surface that helped get the ball to Layth Jabbar, who played the ball into the box for Marion.
The second goal was more of a designed play. Engelman, a defender, saw that no Deering player was marking him and just kept creeping up the field as Windham was readying a throw. When Engelman received the ball deep in the offensive corner he was unmarked and had time to turn and look for a target and spotted Henry on the opposite side of the box.
“Man, he just put me in a good position where I could slot it into the net,” Henry said. “If it wasn’t for (Engelman) I wouldn’t have scored it.”
Deering helped create the chance, too, by being disorganized and not getting a man on Engelman.
“You saw after the first goal, guys stayed on the ground and they put their heads down,” said Deering Coach Joel Costigan. “We talked about that after the game, using those opportunities even when we get scored on to motivate us.”
Deering, coming off a 1-0 Saturday morning loss to Scarborough, struck quickly.
Chandrel Mangele-Laza, the Rams’ speedy forward, popped home the rebound of Peter Sargent’s shot five minutes into the game. For much of the next 55 or so minutes it appeared that lead could hold up thanks to solid midfield play from Benedito Nzeza, a strong senior that was hard to knock off the ball, and juniors Ethan Fisher and Sargent, and the effort of fast-closing back Avery Bassi Lawrence.
“Deering is a top-tier team and probably the best challenge we’ve faced so far and being down at half to a team of that caliber and being able to claw back really says a lot and shows we’re moving in the right direction,” Marion said.
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