Bangor’s Beckett Parkin, center, is surrounded by Mt. Ararat defenders Caleb Murphy, left, and Ethan Palmer, right and Sam Dube during a A North boys soccer quarterfinal Wednesday night in Topsham. Eric Maxim/The Times Record
TOPSHAM — Ethan Berry left nothing to chance, not with the season on the line.
“In my head I was thinking score or keep playing, there could be a chance of no soccer tomorrow,” said Berry.
The Mt. Ararat sophomore scored on a penalty kick with 7:10 remaining in overtime to lift the second-seeded Mt. Ararat boys soccer team to a thrilling 2-1 victory over No. 7 Bangor in a Class A North quarterfinal game Wednesday night at Stadium FIeld.
The Eagles (12-1-2) will host No. 3 Brunswick (11-3-1) in a regional semifinal game Saturday at 7 p.m. The Dragons
Mt. Ararat needed overtime to break a 1-1 tie with an Ethan Berry goal off a penalty kick to slip past Bangor in A North boys soccer quarterfinal action Wednesday.
The No. 2 Eagles will host No. 3 Brunswick on Saturday for a chance to go to the Regional Final next week. Mt. Ararat edged the Dragons 1-0 last week in the season finale.
Berry’s game-winner came after a Bangor defender was penalized for a slide tackle inside the box.
“Ethan stepped up (earlier in season) and buried one, and he keeps showing me in practice as we end practices, especially in playoff time with PKs, He consistently puts them away, so we’re just going to let him run with that,” said Mt. Ararat coach Jack Rioux.
Both teams started cautiously, sizing each other up once again. The two teams tied 2-2 in September.
“We knew their midfield was tough. It gave us problems up there and it gave us problems here,” said Rioux. “Bangor was very organized, they’re very well coached and we knew it was going to be a battle. We knew there weren’t going to be a lot of scoring chances.”
Mt. Ararat’s Keegan Rowe, center, beats Bangor’s Gabe Berenyi to the ball during a Class A North boys soccer quarterfinal game Wednesday night in Topsham. Eric Maxim/The Times Record
Scoring chances were indeed limited and the game’s first shot on goal didn’t come until 22 minutes into the half.
“We battled hard, but we didn’t click tonight, like earlier in the season when we were in a tie with them,” said Berry.
After Bangor missed on a direct kick from 40 yards out, Mt. Ararat had a near miss as well after Berry sent a ball to Ben Therriault, but Bangor goalie Sam Rutledge (five saves) came out to stop the play.
15 minutes into the half, Ewan Alexander carried the ball down the left side, putting a shot on goal that Rutledge stopped, but the rebound went in front and Mt. Ararat sophomore Caleb Murphy slid across the wet turf to tap the ball in to the back of the net for a 1-0 Eagles lead.
The Rams (6-5-4) responded when Jacob Osmer blasted a shot from the left side toward the right post and beat outstretched Mt. Ararat keeper Jacob Fullerton for the equalizer.
Both squads had chances down the stretch but were denied by strong defensive efforts.
“We just wanted to contain the defender, make sure they can’t get by us and then get the ball and hopefully make something happen,” said Mt. Ararat senior Zander Kirk.
Bangor escaped at the end of regulation after they were called for their second yellow card with 18 seconds remaining, setting up a direct kick for Berry. The sophomore’s kick from 42 yards out was knocked out by Osmer and time expired, sending it to the 15-minute overtime.
“It was playoff soccer, wasn’t the prettiest, especially on our side. It’s a win,” said Rioux. “It doesn’t have to be pretty. A win is a win.”
Copy the Story LinkComments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
