BRUNSWICK

JD Souza made a tough decision last year, moving from Wiscasset, where he was a standout in soccer and basketball, to Brunswick. Being that he transferred after the soccer season, he had to sit out for the remainder of the school year and watch from the sidelines.

On Tuesday against rival Mt. Ararat, Souza more than made up for his time away, scoring two goals and picking up an assist in a 4-1 Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference win.

Brunswick, which began the season 0-2, ended the regular season on a 12-game unbeaten streak (10-0-2) and leapfrogged Bangor into second place in the Eastern Maine Class A Heal Point Standings, pending the outcome of Tuesday’s Hampden Academy-Bangor matchup.

On the other side, the Eagles dropped their third game in the last four contests to conclude the regular slate at 8-4-2. Mt. Ararat sits in fifth, with a road quarterfinal a real possibility once the final standings are announced.

“We weren’t ready to play. I just haven’t figured this team out,” said frustrated Mt. Ararat coach Rick Renaud after watching his team fall behind 3-0 in the first half.

“That is what we were looking for all year, and I couldn’t ask for a better game for us to head into the playoffs with,” said Brunswick coach Mark Roma. “The boys are really starting to believe. We had that ugly taste from early in the season (a 3-0 loss to Mt. Ararat), and today helped to cleanse that.”

Good Brunswick start

The teams spent the first 10 minutes adjusting to the wet field, with rain continually coming down, making for a soupy, slippery pitch.

Souza got the Dragons going. He gathered a loose ball, dribbled past the Mt. Ararat defense and slipped a shot past Eagles starting netminder Jon Roux for a 1-0 lead with 26:10 left in the opening half.

At 14:36, Souza doubled the lead, heeling a pass from Eric Kousky.

“ This team plays well together, and things are just going really good,” said Souza. “We kept moving the ball and switching the field and it was always there. Being here, contributing, makes me feel good.”

“JD is a calming influence in there, makes good decisions, and he is just a smart player,” said Roma.

Brunswick upped its advantage to 3-0 with 8:49 left until halftime. Reed Foster sent a direct kick toward the Mt. Ararat cage, now manned by Mason Griffin ( three saves). The pass glanced off an Eagles defenseman and over the goaltender’s head.

Defensively, Roma was pleased with freshman Henry Doherty, who drew the difficult task of marking Mt. Ararat standout striker Robbie Small.

“ For a freshman, talk about maturity. We gave him the responsibility of marking one of the best players in the conference and he gave them fits all game long,” said the coach. “ He held his own and has been great all year long.”

Mt. Ararat looked to get closer in the second half, but Souza set up Cole Faulkner for a 4- 0 lead with 12:19 remaining.

Michael Crawford scored with 10: 12 left to put the Eagles on the board, finishing off a pass from Chris Pepin to complete the scoring.

Brunswick netminder Josh Dorr turned aside nine shots in the win. The Eagles held a 17-12 shots advantage, including 12-6 in the second half.

Brunswick 4,
Mt. Ararat 1

At Brunswick
Mt. Ararat — 0 1 — 1
Brunswick — 3 1 — 4
Goals — (MtA) Michael Crawford;
(B) JD Souza 2, Reed Foster, Cole
Faulkner.
Assists — (MtA) Chris Pepin; (B) Eric
Kousky, JD Souza.
Shots — Mt. Ararat 17, Brunswick
12.
Saves —(MtA) Jon Roux 0, Mason
Griffin 3; (B) Josh Dorr 9.
Corner kicks — Mt. Ararat 5,
Brunswick 2.
Records — Brunswick 10-2-2; Mt.
Ararat 8-4-2.
Up next — Both the Eagles and Dragons will play in the Eastern A quarterfinals, with time and date to be
announced.