LISBON HIGH SCHOOL’S Austin Bedford (9) and Wiscasset’s Russell Marr (12) battle for the ball while Wolverine Aidan Carlson (17) looks on. The Greyhounds captured a 4-0 MVC boys soccer win on Friday at Wiscasset.
Playing its first road game of the 2015 high school boys soccer season, Dan Sylvester’s Lisbon squad talked about getting off to a quick start to quell the nerves that might have built up during the one hour bus ride.
LISBON’S NOAH AUSTIN (13) goes airborne while Wiscasset’s Alex Strozier (14) gets his foot on the ball in an MVC boys high school soccer game at Wiscasset on Friday. Lisbon won, 4-0.
The first goal came a mere 1:40 after the opening kick, with Ryley Austin touching a pass off an indirect kick from Austin Fournier into the Wolverines (0-5) cage.
Less than three minutes later, Fournier made it 2-0 when his blast from a near impossible angle caromed off Wiscasset goaltender Sam Strozier’s hands and into the twine. Nick Huston put the capper on Lisbon’s strong start with a rocket underneath the cross bar with 29:56 still on the clock in the first half.
“I was nervous after the bus ride, and you just never know in that first road game, but the guys came out with a quick start,” said Lisbon coach Dan Sylvester.
Sylvester discussed the skillful Fournier, who capped his big day with the final goal, another hard, rising shot that caught the cross bar and bounced into the cage with 13:44 remaining in the second half.
“Austin has a lot of skill, and part of the game we are trying to develop for him is to be patient and keep it simple,” said Sylvester. “He is very dangerous when his shot is on.”
“We knew we had to come out hot, with two games in 48 hours on the road,” said Fournier, who will lead the Greyhounds against Mt. Abram on Thursday at 3:30 p.m..
For Wiscasset coach Chris Cossette, his team’s start was disappointing considering how hard the Wolverines played in the second half of a close 2-1 loss against Monmouth on Wednesday. Injuries have certainly played a part in Wiscasset’s early-season troubles, along with spurts of inconsistent play.
“We are coming off injuries, still have injuries, and we still haven’t had our full squad in order to get the cogs working all together,” said Cossette, whose Wolverines visit St. Dom’s on Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. “We are trying to bring those young guys in. We are seeing glimpses of it. Every game we’re in it. The record doesn’t reflect how the boys are playing.”
Cooling off
After Lisbon’s quick start, play bogged down, with most of the action taking place between the 18s. The Greyhounds, after firing the game’s first six shots, ended with a 14- 3 shot advantage in the first half. Wiscasset’s best chance came moments after Lisbon took the 1-0 lead, with Kevin Lynch just missing the net off a corner kick.
Strozier had his moments in net, diving to the left to stop a hard shot by Noah Austin, and stopping back-to-back tries by Josh Huston and Troy Galarneau to finish the first half with four saves. Lisbon netminder Jonah Sautter had two first-half stops, including a diving save on Wiscasset’s Chase Reed.
“The first 10-15 minutes of this game, I don’t know who was out there,” said Cossette, who ran his team through an intense workout moments after this had ended. “ Lisbon shocked us pretty hard early. But, I think we began to regroup.”
“ Putting our whole game together is important,” said Sylvester. “We have to execute for 80 minutes, where today we seemed to get a bit comfortable with our start and let up a bit.”
In the second half, Wiscasset’s Ethan James had a solid chance stopped by Sautter. Less than one minute later, Ryley Austin set up Fournier for the game’s final goal.
The Greyhounds held a 20-10 shot advantage and an 8- 2 edge in corner kicks. Sautter finished with four saves, with Strozier turning aside seven.
Lisbon 4,
Wiscasset 0
Friday at Wiscasset High School
Lisbon — 3 1 — 4
Wiscasset — 0 0 — 0
Goals — (L) Ryley Austin, Austin
Fournier 2, Nick Huston.
Assists — (L) Austin Fournier, Ryley
Austin.
Shots — Lisbon 20, Wiscasset 10.
Saves — (L) Jonah Sautter 4; (W)
Sam Strozier 7.
Corner kicks — Lisbon 8, Wiscasset
2.
Records — Lisbon 5-0, Wiscasset 0-
5.
Up next for the Greyhounds —
Thursday at home against Mt. Abram,
3:30 p.m.
Up next for the Wolverines — Tuesday at St. Dom’s, 3:30 p.m.
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