TOPSHAM

Disappointment resonated from the Mt. Ararat High School fans after the Lewiston boys soccer team tied Thursday’s Eastern Maine Class A championship contest with just 46.2-seconds remaining in regulation.

This moment of silence from the home folks didn’t last long, especially after Robbie Small scored his second goal of the game 2: 10 into the second overtime to lift the Eagles to a thrilling 2- 1 victory, sending Mt. Ararat to the State Class A title game on Saturday against Scarborough.

The game will be held at Hampden Academy, beginning at 10 a.m.

“ We have seen Scarborough the last two times we went to the state title game, and we won in penalty kicks (2003) and they won in penalty kicks (2005), so we’ll see what happens,” said Mt. Ararat coach Rick Renaud.

In a game where both teams left every bit of themselves on the field, Mt. Ararat took advantage of a one-man edge after a Lewiston player was issued a red card and game ejection during the Blue Devils’ celebration of the tying goal.

Still, Lewiston kept coming, outshooting the Eagles 20-12, with Mt. Ararat goaltender Gabe Pelletier making nine saves, including three from point- blank range on Mohamed Ali.

“It’s awful to lose a game like that, and they played their hearts out,” said Renaud. “Lewiston is a very, very good team, and we just battled. I have to give my kids credit. They just kept battling. When you get scored upon with 40 seconds remaining it is tough.”

“The opportunities were there, and you have to be able to finish them,” said Lewiston (13-2-2) coach Mike McGraw, who received solid performances from Yusuf Yama, Abdi Shariff- Hersi and Lucas Schulze. “ This was a great game, heartwrenching, and somebody has to win and somebody has to lose. I thought our kids were so resilient to get into overtime and play a man down, and they truly believed they were going to find a break and get a win. Mt. Ararat played a fantastic game and they earned it.”

Throughout the contest, throw-ins from Mt. Ararat midfielders Brian Johnson and Eric Bowie caused havoc for the Lewiston defense. The winning goal came from an accurate throw- in by Bowie, with Small managing to get his head on the ball and past the dive of Lewiston netminder Eric Soucy (five saves).

“We had great throws from Eric and Brian, and I was able to just get my head on it,” said Small. “I heard one of my teammates, Will Hirnak, say that it went in and we were just so excited. Coach said we each needed to pick it up and get some throw-ins. We really wanted to go to states, and now we get that chance.”

Lewiston controls

The first half was all Lewiston, with the Blue Devils holding a 9-3 shots advantage. Ali received a pass from Yama on a 3-on-1 break, with his chance turned aside by Pelletier, and Yama’s shot from 30 yards was gobbled up by the Mt. Ararat netminder.

Eagle defenders Alex LaPierre, Dylan Michaud and Dan Purinton, who has nursed an injured foot over the past few weeks, helped clear several Lewiston chances away from the cage as the first half ended in a scoreless deadlock.

“ We’re playing three in the back, and when you do that against Lewiston you are taking chances,” said Renaud. “ We’ve got to attack, our strength, and you can’t do that unless you have three very good defenders. Danny has a busted up foot, so for him to play the game like he did, it’s very good.”

“I guess I got my adrenaline going and my foot feels fine now,” said Purinton. “We realize there are just three of us back there, and we don’t want to let our team down and our coach down. We were able to do it by marking well, and that is all that we can do.”

Mt. Ararat jumped on top when Small gathered a Nate Santeramo pass and fired a nicely-placed shot past the outstretched arms of Soucy 12:07 into the second half.

The Eagles kept the pressure on Lewiston, with Soucy turning aside a Hirnak chance, and the Blue Devils lost Yama for 10 minutes after he received a yellow card with 15:12 remaining.

Once Yama returned, Lewiston put pressure on the Mt. Ararat cage. The Blue Devils’ hard work paid off, as Shariff-Hersi received a pass from Doud Idow and beat Pelletier to stun the Eagles. During the celebration, a Lewiston player removed his shirt, resulting in a red card and forcing Lewiston to play a man down for the rest of the contest.

Renaud refocused his squad during the intermission prior to overtime.

“I told them we are a man up, so play the corners and the flags and see what happens,” said Renaud.

“At the moment after their goal, we put our heads down, but they got the red card and we felt there was no reason that we couldn’t put one in during those 30 minutes of overtime,” said Santeramo.

After a quiet first overtime, Mt. Ararat earned a throw-in to open the second 15- minute extra session. Small’s header sent the home fans into a frenzy, and the Eagles to the Class A title game.

No. 1 Mt. Ararat 2,
No. 2 Lewiston 1

Eastern Maine Class A Championship
At Topsham
Lewiston— 010–1
Mt.Ararat—011–2
Goals — (L) Abdi Shariff-Hersi; (MA)
Robbie Small 2.
Assists — (L) Doud Idow; (MA) Nate
Santeramo, Eric Bowie.
Shots — Lewiston, 20-12.
Saves — (L) Eric Soucy 5; (MA) Gabe
Pelletier 9.
Corner kicks — Lewiston, 3-2.
Records — Mt. Ararat 15-1-1, Lewiston
13-2-2.
Next for the Eagles — Saturday against
Western A champ Scarborough at Hampden Academy at 10 a.m.