BRUNSWICK

Brunswick forward Blake Gordon fired shot after shot at the Mt. Ararat goal in Wednesday’s Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference boys soccer showdown.

Gordon watched three shots sail either wide or high, had Eagles goaltender Jon Roux rob him again and again, and even rang a 20- yard blast off the post through 80 minutes of scoreless soccer in the latest “Battle of the Bridge” rivalry game.

But, Gordon’s nicely touched pass to the head of Eric Kousky was the golden goal as the Dragons came away with a 1-0 overtime victory.

The win gives Brunswick a 1-1 mark with a home date with Brewer slated for Saturday at 6 p.m., while Mt. Ararat dropped its second contest in three days to fall to 1-2 and plays host to Mt. Blue on Saturday at 1 p.m.

Kousky’s winning goal came just 44 seconds into the extra session. This after the Dragons closed the second half with a flurry of chances to finish with an 18- 10 shots advantage.

“We just really play well as a team, kept the pressure up and played well today,” said Kousky.

If not for Roux, who made nine saves, this one might have been over much sooner. Roux made two breakaways stops on Gordon, while Brunswick netminder Ryan Brescia made six saves, but not of the quality that Roux was forced to make.

“ Coach strives for us to give as much effort as we can, so we just kept pushing and Eric put one in,” said Gordon, who described the winning goal. “ The ball came up, and I was able to get it to the corner, send a cross and find Eric’s head. He was able to put it in and it was an unbelievable finish.

“This win means a lot. It is a good bounce- back win after the Hampden game (a 4-0 loss in the season opener). Hopefully, there will be a lot more wins to come.”

“This is a huge win. We know that Mt. Ararat will be there in the end,” said Brunswick coach Mark Roma. “ I knew this was going to be a battle, and the boys rose to the challenge.”

It was hot!

With the game played in warm and sticky conditions, both the Dragons and Eagles battled hard throughout. But, it was Brunswick that had the better of the play throughout a scoreless first half.

Brunswick’s early pressure led to three corner kicks, and Roux stopped Gordon on a breakaway off a pass from Cam Glover.

The Dragons appeared to score when Alex Reny put home a rebound of a Gordon shot, but Reny was ruled offsides. Moments later, Gordon set up Josh Clark in front with nothing but an open net in front of him. But, his shot sailed high.

Brunswick held a 6- 3 advantage in first-half shots, along with a 5-3 advantage in corner kicks.

The heat appeared to get to both teams in the second half, as several players were treated for cramps. Mt. Ararat, playing with a deep bench, subbed often, and the Eagles lost two players to injury during the physical contest.

The Eagles took over during a 10-minute stretch late in regulation, with Brescia making his best stop on a Joe Thomas chance with 5:40 remaining, and he turned aside Griffin Stockford seconds later.

But, Brunswick found its second wind, led by Gordon. The Dragons took the final five shots of regulation, with Gordon’s rocket from long distance clanging off the post to the right of a diving Roux with 2:43 remaining in regulation.

“They played with 12 or 13 players and I played with 19. You would think that would make a difference, but it didn’t,” said frustrated Mt. Ararat coach Rick Renaud. “There was no urgency. This is what I was worried about. I got my hopes up after Monday night ( a 3- 2 loss to Lewiston). Today they went right back to where they were. Brunswick came out hard. Give them credit. They outworked us all over the field.”

“ I had faith in the boys that were out there, even though we know Mt. Ararat has a deep bench and were going to keep bringing it like they did against Lewiston on Monday,” said Roma. “Blake was fantastic today. But, we knew one breakdown and it is all for naught. We kept working.”

Brunswick finished with an 8-4 edge in corner kicks, and defensemen Phillip LeBlanc, Satchel Toole, Adam Finick and Reed Foster kept the Eagles at bay.

Brunswick 1, Mt. Ararat 0, OT

At Peter Gardner Field in Brunswick
Mt.Ararat—000—0
Brunswick—001—1
Goal — (B) Eric Kousky.
Assist — (B) Blake Gordon.
Shots — Brunswick 18, Mt. Ararat 10.
Saves — (MA) Jon Roux 9; (B) Ryan
Brescia 6.
Corner kicks — Brunswick 8, Mt. Ararat
4.
Records — Brunswick 1-1, Mt. Ararat 1-
2.
Up next for Mt. Ararat — Saturday at
home against Mt. Blue, 1 p.m.
Up next for Brunswick — Saturday at
home against Brewer, 6 p.m.