A year ago, Windham and Deering were two of the best boys’ soccer teams in Class A South, if not the entire state. Windham finished first in the regular season and had its season end in penalty kicks in the regional semifinals. Deering advanced to its first state final before losing in overtime to Lewiston.
Based on Windham’s 2-0 win Wednesday at Deering’s Memorial Field, Windham is once again among the elite, while Deering has yet to hit its stride.
Behind first-half goals from Dylan Crockett and center midfield maestro Luke Cuniffe, and a fourth straight shutout from senior keeper Lukas Hammond, the Eagles improved to 4-0. Deering dropped to 1-3-1, including one-goal defeats against Portland and Falmouth.
“This was a tough game. We knew it was going to be tough coming into it,” said Cuniffe, a four-year starter. “We knew we had to grind it out this game.”
Windham put pressure on the Rams early and capitalized at 8:09 of the first half when Sam Rogers ran onto a through ball from midfield into the right-side corner area and then placed a strong right-to-left pass across the box, past Deering keeper Jack Borland. Dylan Crockett received the ball and didn’t hesitate, firmly planting a shot into the open left half of the net.
“That’s how we want to play and when we do that, when we have that aggressive game, I think that’s our best chances of being able to do something,” said Windham Coach Jeff Neal.
Neal said his team, like most at this stage of the season, is still refining its identity.
As the Eagles showed in the first 20 minutes of the game and then again in the latter half of the second half, they can play aggressively and move the ball forward, with Cuniffe often the fulcrum, leading to strong runs by the likes of Rogers, Crockett and others.
“Our team we have so many attacking options. In practice, we have two full teams of attacking forwards who can score and create in the final third. It’s nice to watch,” Cuniffe said.
But there were also times when Windham found itself on the back foot. Certainly a good part of the credit went to Deering doing a better job of contesting and winning possession in the midfield, with Peter Sargent and Ethan Fisher winning more balls and Alberto Lucas-Bayata showing he could keep possession and find a way to move it forward.
“We knew they were going to come, but we didn’t react and adapt well to that,” Neal said. “It’s something we’ve been working on and something we’ve been talking about. It kind of comes in moments, and then it kind of goes away in moments, too.”
Hammond only made three saves, but Deering did have chances, including one by Agusto Daniel late in the first half that required a Hammond stop, and a blast by Daniel in the second half that was about 3 feet high. Only three of Deering’s 13 shots were on frame.
“I think that was because of my defense,” Hammond said. “They stayed pretty compact and they got the ball out in situations where it could have been dangerous.”
Cuniffe’s goal showed that in addition to being a top-tier distributor with an all-game motor, he can also be a deadly sniper.
Taking a throw-in from Garrett Crossman, Cuniffe was able to get his left hip just clear of a Deering defender and unleashed a hard shot with his right foot that zipped past Borland and into the top right corner.
“Garrett Crossman threw the ball into me. I trusted him to put it into a spot. I was kind of running blindly and he threw it exactly where I needed it to be, and I just took a touch and slapped it into the top corner,” Cuniffe said.
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