WINDHAM — Elliot Maker scored his second goal of the game early in the second half, then ran to the sideline, jumped and gave an arm pump.
A big regular-season matchup and a two-goal lead. It was a situation for exuberance.
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Cheverus went on to shut out Windham 2-0 in a Southern Maine Activities Association boys’ soccer game Tuesday night.
“It was a nice bounce-back win,” said Cheverus Coach Bill LeBlanc. “We played a good 80 minutes against a good team.”
Maker, a senior, said he saves celebrations for significant moments.
“I did it last year against Gorham,” he said.
“This was another big game. It just seemed fitting. It was a big momentum changer. Windham got on a run at the start of the second half.”
Even after the Stags made it 2-0, plenty of time remained. A goal could have swung the momentum right back to the Eagles (4-2).
They had a number of chances, none better than Bryan Soucy’s hard drive that that forced Cheverus goalie Charlie Mull to make a diving save with 9:30 remaining.
It was the best save of the game and slowed Windham’s charge.
“If that goes in, it’s a different game,” said Windham Coach Colin Minte.
“I thought it was a pretty even game. Cheverus had their chances. We had ours. You have to capitalize on your chances. We had some mental lapses. Elliot Maker is a very talented player.”
Maker scored his first goal with 10:31 in the first half. He got behind goalie Dana King and tapped the ball home.
His second goal came from a scramble in front. Maker nudged the ball in.
The Eagles had some early rushes that just missed connections. A couple of times Windham crossed the ball in front, just missing a streaking teammate.
“That’s something we worked on in practice,” said Minte.
The “bounce-back” LeBlanc referred to was rebounding from a 4-0 loss Saturday to Scarborough.
“Scarborough is a good team but it wasn’t our best game,” said Maker. “Hopefully we’ll meet them again.”
In the early going of the season, the top four or five teams in the conference have been closely matched.
“Windham beat Portland in a season opener. Portland ties Scarborough and we beat Windham,” said LeBlanc.
Of Cheverus’ loss to Scarborough, Minte said, “That wasn’t indicative of the type of team Cheverus is.”
LeBlanc cited his underclassmen on defense for an outstanding game.
“We have two freshmen in Bill Risigo and Patrick Mourmouras, and a sophomore in Sterling Weatherbie back there. They did a great job.”
The Stags also had good spacing on their passes, which opened up the field.
Staff Writer Tom Chard can be contacted at 791-6419 or at: tchard@pressherald.com
Twitter: TomChardPPH
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