LEWISTON — Brunswick High played the game it wanted, except for a 27-second span.
Lewiston scored two quick goals early in the second half and beat Brunswick 2-1 for the Eastern Class A boys’ soccer title Wednesday.
Abdulkarim Abdulle scored both Lewiston goals. Brunswick rallied with a Kennan Welzel goal, then kept up the pressure.
With three minutes left, Eric Kousky of Brunswick headed a crossing pass off the crossbar.
“Heartbreaking,” Kousky said. “But that’s how the game goes.”
The top-seeded Blue Devils (16-0-1) advanced to Saturday’s state final against Cheverus.
Second-seeded Brunswick (12-3-2) gave Lewiston its one tie.
“We made a good run at it,” said midfielder Cameron Glover about a season that began 0-2.
Lewiston attacked at will in the first half. Brunswick knew that was coming and held on.
“Our game plan was to absorb the pressure, then take control in the second half,” Brunswick Coach Mark Roma said. “That’s what we did when they came to our house (for a 2-2 tie Oct. 2).
“And it was going to script.”
Lewiston Coach Mike McGraw wanted a rewrite.
“We played into their hands in the first half,” McGraw said. “We would try to put a ball through. They’re smart and picked up where we were supposed to go … We made adjustments.”
In the second half, Abdulle got the ball, his back to goal. He faked going right, whirled and boomed a left-footed shot in after 5:23. At 5:50, Abdulle took a cross and scored for a 2-0 lead.
“We knew they would come out flying,” Roma said. “We needed to absorb that, then shift gears and go to work.
“They just were able to sneak a couple in and it was tough to recover … But these kids have a ton of heart. That’s how we came back from being 0-2 to where we are.”
The Dragons finally sustained some pressure. Finally at 34:11, Welzel took a pass from Pedro Zenklusen and scored.
With about three minutes left, Souza sent a cross in and Kousky approached.
“I saw that ball coming toward me and everything slowed down,” Kousky said. “I tried to place it in the net but it was just a couple of inches off.
“We almost came back but Lewiston is a great team. They’re undefeated and they earned it.”
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