Bonny Eagle kept pace with Thornton Academy through the first on Saturday, but the Trojans soon enough pulled away. Isaac Sinclair hashed four goals and Cody Falton three more for TA in a decisive, 13-4 victory over the Scots.
The homefield win moves Thornton to 7-3 on the season; they occupy the A-West second-slot, behind undefeated South Portland (9-0) but ahead of Scarborough (6-3). Bonny Eagle, meanwhile, drops to 3-6. The Scots cling to seventh in A West, the last of the playoff spots.
“It’s been our sticking point for the past couple games,” Thornton head coach Ryan Hersey said, “that we’ve come out without any passion. Maybe our team thought we were going to come out here and win with just 50 percent effort.
“We talked about it, and said, ‘We don’t want you guys coming out flat,’ and they came out flat. And we’ve just got to instill that, against a team that can make you pay, we’re going to be in trouble quick.”
Sinclair scored first, roughly five minutes into quarter one, but Bonny Eagle’s Austin Havu evened the tally not five minutes later. Then, with just about 21 seconds to play, the Trojans again leapt ahead – Greg Ruff assisting Falton – only to receive an immediate rejoinder from the Scots, Kyle Whitman shuttling the ball past TA keeper Jack Grondin for two-all.
“We’re in second place,” Hersey said, “but we still need to win out to keep that second place. If Scarborough beats South Portland, they’re going to jump ahead of us, and we’ll deal with that at that point, but we’ve got to do what we can do, and win out against Westbrook and Gorham.”
Thornton added two quick to start the second, one by Taylor Browne and another by Falton for 4-2, but Whitman soon halved the gap on an Antonio Bruni assist. Then, however, the Trojans found their groove, pounding home point after point while holding Bonny Eagle silent for a long stretch.
Hersey praised “our faceoff guy” – that’s Katz – saying, “he’s really been working hard.” He had good things to say as well about the team’s offense: “Our attack came out flat in the first quarter, but I thought second quarter, beginning third quarter, they were on.”
“Defensively, I thought we did well for the most part. It’s hard sometimes, when we’re telling these guys to go go go, for them to maintain their position. So sometimes, when we’re trying to pressure out on a ball, we leave people open.”
Sinclair made it 5-3 with 5:10 to play before the break; loitering in front of the Scots’ net, he grabbed an inward pass, turned and bounced the ball past Bonny Eagle netminder Jared Geaumont. Zach Bryant made it 6-3, Sinclair 7-3, and Sinclair to Ian Carrier 8-3 to close the half.
TA never looked back, and while Bruni notched one more for the Scots with 37 seconds remaining in the game, it was much too little, much too late. 13-4 was the final.
The Trojans travel to Westbrook on Wednesday the 28th for a 7 p.m. brawl with the Blazes (3-5). The Scots host Biddeford at 4 p.m. on the same day.
“We have to remain consistent,” Hersey reiterated.
Thornton’s Cody Falton fends off Kellan Corbett of Bonny Eagle at Thorton Academy on Friday.
Thornton goalie Jack Grondin steals a breather during a break in the action.
Trojans Greg Ruff (left) and Charlie Katz (right) converge on Scots middie Jason Harmon, knocking the ball loose.
Trojan Jesse Meikle wraps up Bonny Eagle ball-carrier Cam Brown.
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