FREEPORT

The York team bus passed the entrance to Hunter Road Fields, not once, but twice. The Wildcats were running late as the 3:30 p.m. start time on Thursday quickly approached.

Despite only having 20 minutes to loosen up, the visitors charged out the gate, scoring two goals in the opening 20 minutes, then two more early in the second half in downing Freeport, 4- 0, in a Western Maine Conference high school boys soccer game.

The Falcons fell to 3-3 and visit Poland on Friday at 3:30 p.m., while York improved to 6-1.

For York, it was all about senior Alex Nickerson. He scored the game’s first goal just 3:47 in off a setup from classmate Keenan Gamache.

His second goal with 20:11 remaining in the opening frame was an individual effort, as Nickerson charged through the Freeport defense before beating Falcon goaltender Atticus Patrick to the far corner of his cage with a perfectly placed shot.

“We were clicking,” said Nickerson of his team’s start. “Our midfield and defense had a great combined effort. We only had 20 minutes to warm up, but we came prepared. We wanted to get off to a fast start. That first goal is always the biggest goal.”

“He is a solid player and took advantage of our mistakes,” said Freeport coach Joe Heathco of Nickerson, who finished with three goals and an assist. “We hadn’t seen that type of player in our first five games. We were getting away with things. Today, he scored great goals, especially the second one from a tough angle.”

Despite being down 2-0, Freeport pressed throughout the final 20 minutes of the first half. Will Winter put the first shot toward the York frame, and Caleb Arsenault forced Wildcat goaltender Brett Smith to make his only save of the opening 40 minutes.

Heathco was hoping for a carryover as the second half began.

“We talked about where we are going with the ball. We were finding more dangerous places to find the ball and were recognizing that,” Heathco said.

Second run

Instead, Nickerson put the contest away over a 57-second stretch, first sending teammate Zachary Westman in for a breakaway goal 3:19 into the half, and putting the contest away himself by side-stepping Patrick before finding the back of the cage for a 4-0 advantage.

Heathco was quick to blame himself for his team’s defensive lapses.

“They exposed us in two situations where guys hadn’t been in those positions and hadn’t work on it. The guys weren’t making their reads, but we hadn’t worked on that,” said the Freeport coach. “They stepped to the ball and it popped through. Those are on me, not the kids. York was making things happen.”

“We were struggling to get our chances in the first half after those first two, so we wanted to come out in the second and put it away,” Nickerson said. “If we would have let them back in it, it would have turned into a battle like last year. Freeport fights hard and is a good team.”

Just like in the first half, Freeport found its legs as the second frame progressed. After Patrick made a diving stop of York’s Daniel Thurlow, the Falcons went to work. Smith tipped a rising shot over his cage off the foot of Freeport’s Joe Ashby, and made saves on Eriksen Shea and Owen Patrick in the final stages of regulation to preserve his shutout.

Despite the three wins so far, Heathco felt he hadn’t seen enough challenges for his squad to make the right changes, especially on defense. After facing York, the longtime Falcons leader has a better idea of what need to happen.

“Today I experimented with some defense and it took them out of their element,” said Heathco. “I screwed up. It just didn’t work, but this game showed us what we need to get better at. In games we win, we are not seeing what we need to work on. Now at least we know and will move forward.”

York finished with a 20-9 shot advantage, with Patrick making 11 saves in the loss. The Wildcats led in corner kicks, 6-4.

York 4, Freeport 0

At Hunter Road Fields

York	—	2	2	—	4
Freeport		— 0	0	—	0

Goals — (Y) Alex Nickerson 3, Zachary Westman. Assists — (Y) Keenan Gamache, Alex Nickerson, James Peter. Shots — York 20, Freeport 9. Saves — (Y) Brett Smith 4, (F) Atticus Patrick 11. Corner kicks — York 6, Freeport 4. Records — York 6-1, Freeport 3-3. Up next for the Falcons — Friday at Poland, 3:30 p.m.