Yarmouth’s Gabe Collins, left, tries to get past Mt. Ararat’s Zander Kirk during a boys soccer game Wednesday at Riverside Park in Topsham. Eli Canfield/The Times Record
TOPSHAM — Playing with only three seniors, the Mt. Ararat boys soccer team more than held its own this fall, giving way for more optimism in the future.
On Wednesday afternoon, the young Eagles dropped their second match to Yarmouth of the season, although this one was certainly tighter.
Owen Gillian and Cam Merrill scored to help the Clippers pull out a 2-0 victory. Yarmouth won the previous meeting, 7-0.
“I give a lot of credit to Mt. Ararat, they worked hard (Wednesday),” said Yarmouth coach Mike Haggerty. “We had to play a lot quicker than last time to keep up with them.”
In a season with no playoffs, the Eagles instead focused all their energy on building toward the future, and making sure the three seniors got to enjoy their final season.
“We’re just trying to do the right things each day and build up for the future,” said Mt. Ararat head coach Jack Rioux. “I don’t look at the whole 80 minutes and the final score to judge our success.”
Added Mt. Ararat sophomore Tyler Berry: “We just focused on working together as a team this year, so we can have success in the upcoming seasons,” said
The Eagles started freshman Jacob Fullerton in goal all fall. He turned in another strong game Wednesday, finishing with 13 saves.
Davis Young of Yarmouth, right, battles for possession with Nathaniel Smith of Mt. Ararat during a boys soccer game Wednesday at Riverside Park in Topsham. Eli Canfield/The Times Record
“I truly wasn’t ready for this, it kind of came out of nowhere,” said Fullerton, who finished with 13 saves. “I made the best of it, considering how the season went.”
After starting the season on a losing streak, the Eagles had tied and won their last two games coming into Wednesday.
“We’ve shown a lot of improvement down the stretch and have started playing our game,” Fullerton added.
The Eagles again showed how they’ve progressed from the start of the abbreviated season until now.
In the first half, the Clippers maintained a majority of the possession, but Fullerton and the defense were not to be denied. The game was scoreless at the half.
“That was a great half of soccer boys,” Rioux said to his team at halftime.
Spencer LeClair of Mt. Ararat, front, shields off Will Hunter of Yarmouth during a boys soccer game Tuesday at Riverside Park in Topsham. Eli Canfield/The Times Record
Gillian scored just 45 seconds into the half, burying a pass from Will Caruso into the bottom left corner.
The Clippers doubled their lead with just over 15 minutes remaining after midfielder Baden McLaughlin set up Merrill with a pretty pass.
“We competed hard and had fun. It was a fun season for all of us,” Rioux said.
Yarmouth goalie Colburn Synder finished with one save.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
