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Dragons stifle Morse
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| Morse Midfielder Blake McElman (22) battles with Brunswick High School’s Brandon Sawyer during first half KVAC boys soccer action in Bath on Saturday. The Dragons won 5-0. (Bob Conn / The Times Record) |
By Bob Conn, Times Record Staff
BATH — The Morse High School boys soccer team is nearing the end of its 2009 season, a year filled with injuries that has limited the Shipbuilders’ ability to compete at the high level coach Kevin Bachman had hoped for.
On Saturday against rival — and talent-rich — Brunswick, but with the projected opening day starting lineup on the field for the first time since the early in the season, Morse gave everything it had in a superbly played first half of Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference soccer.
Take away two sterling saves from Dragons netminder Zach McMillan, the Shipbuilders are thinking upset instead of facing a 2-0 deficit that Brunswick built upon in pulling away for a 5-0 victory.
The win gives the Dragons an 11-1-2 mark with the regular-season finale slated for Tuesday at home against Cony, while Bachman’s Shipbuilders dropped to 2-11 with Lewiston visiting Bath on Tuesday.
“We looked great in the first half and played them pretty even (shots were 10-10, with the Shipbuilders holding a 4-2 edge in corner kicks) as far as play goes, and we just missed a couple great opportunities where their goalie made some nice saves,” said Bachman. “We dropped off a little bit in the second half, mostly because Brunswick is such a talented team. I think without the injuries, we could have won more games and been in a playoff position, but it just didn’t happen for us this year.”
Brunswick, which was coming off a hard-fought 2-1 overtime win over Edward Little on Friday, was frustrated early by several offsides calls (11 in the game), but managed to get by the pesky Shipbuilders.
“It wasn’t hard to get the kids back up today, ready to play, because they love to play the game, and early on in the ballgame when Zach made those saves, they (Morse) were doing some really nice things out there, and we had a big gap in the middle, knowing that if you keep going to the middle that you’re going to get into trouble,” said Brunswick coach Peter Gardner.
Morrell steps up
Gardner jokingly estimated that seven of the offside calls on the Dragons were called on striker Peter Morrell, who shares the goaltending duties with McMillan.
“By playing an offside trap, you should beat it all day long, sending the second line through. Some of the offsides were us just not coming back,” said Gardner.
However, Brunswick midfielders Mitchell Black, Conor Kelly and Evan Turmenne kept trying to spring the speedy forward, and the strategy worked as Morrell scored two breakaway goals in the first half and added a tally early in the second for a 3-0 lead.
“Today, Morse came back with a full roster and proved to be a much tougher team, but we were able to get through a few times and put the ball in,” said Morrell, who enjoys having a chance to play forward when not manning the Brunswick cage. “A lot of times, it’s more fun for me to play up top, and I always like to get a chance to get up front.”
Morse strikers Eric Trautman-Mosher and Ryan Talbot provided the early pressure for the Shipbuilders, with midfielders Blake McElman, Palmer Gosse and Taylor Oddleifson, and defensemen Zach Shaw, Will Beveridge, T.J. Tardif and Caleb Edmondson using the offside trap to keep Brunswick frustrated.
Morse goaltender Charlie Spear had eight saves, while McMillan stopped six shots, all in the first half, before being relieved by Matt Cantu, who didn’t face a shot.
On the other end, the Dragon defense of Garrett Brann, Brandon Sawyer, Justin Rosner and Jack Faherty were solid, especially in the second half when Brunswick outshot Morse 10-4 and scored three goals, one each by Morrell, Will Bann and Wilder Nicholson.
Brunswick 2, Edward Little 1
Rosner converted a throw-in late in the first overtime lifting Brunswick to a Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference victory over Edward Little on Friday.
McMillan staked the Dragons (11-1-2) to a 1-0 halftime lead, but EL tied it midway through the second half on a J.J. Jackson tally.
Morrell earned the win in goal with eight saves, while Eddies goaltender Ian Dollen had 16 stops. The Dragons led in corner kicks 6-2.
Mt. Ararat 5, Morse 2
At Bath on Friday, Nick Oram scored a pair of first-half goals as the Eagles jumped out to a 3-0 lead and pulled away for a KVAC win.
Tim Bickford added a pair for the Eagles, while David Roux completed the Mt. Ararat (6-5-2) scoring late in regulation.
Talbot and Trautman-Mosher scored one goal each for the Shipbuilders.
Spears, Grady Madden and Paul Whalen shared the goaltending duties for Morse, combining on eight saves, while Mt. Ararat netminder Nate Bryant turned aside six shots.
Mt. Ararat is slated to host Erskine Academy on Tuesday at 5 p.m.
sports@timesrecord.com
On Saturday against rival — and talent-rich — Brunswick, but with the projected opening day starting lineup on the field for the first time since the early in the season, Morse gave everything it had in a superbly played first half of Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference soccer.
Take away two sterling saves from Dragons netminder Zach McMillan, the Shipbuilders are thinking upset instead of facing a 2-0 deficit that Brunswick built upon in pulling away for a 5-0 victory.
| Brunswick 5, Morse 0 Morse — 0 0 — 0 Goals — (B) Morrell 3, Bann, Nicholson. Assists — (B) Kelly, Jarosz 2, Bann. Shots — Brunswick 20; Morse 14. Saves — (B) McMillan 6, Cantu 0; (M) Spears 8. Corner kicks — Brunswick 6-5. Records — Brunswick 11-1-2; Morse 2-11. Next — The Dragons host Cony, and Morse entertains Lewiston on Tuesday. |
The win gives the Dragons an 11-1-2 mark with the regular-season finale slated for Tuesday at home against Cony, while Bachman’s Shipbuilders dropped to 2-11 with Lewiston visiting Bath on Tuesday.
“We looked great in the first half and played them pretty even (shots were 10-10, with the Shipbuilders holding a 4-2 edge in corner kicks) as far as play goes, and we just missed a couple great opportunities where their goalie made some nice saves,” said Bachman. “We dropped off a little bit in the second half, mostly because Brunswick is such a talented team. I think without the injuries, we could have won more games and been in a playoff position, but it just didn’t happen for us this year.”
Brunswick, which was coming off a hard-fought 2-1 overtime win over Edward Little on Friday, was frustrated early by several offsides calls (11 in the game), but managed to get by the pesky Shipbuilders.
“It wasn’t hard to get the kids back up today, ready to play, because they love to play the game, and early on in the ballgame when Zach made those saves, they (Morse) were doing some really nice things out there, and we had a big gap in the middle, knowing that if you keep going to the middle that you’re going to get into trouble,” said Brunswick coach Peter Gardner.
Morrell steps up
Gardner jokingly estimated that seven of the offside calls on the Dragons were called on striker Peter Morrell, who shares the goaltending duties with McMillan.
“By playing an offside trap, you should beat it all day long, sending the second line through. Some of the offsides were us just not coming back,” said Gardner.
However, Brunswick midfielders Mitchell Black, Conor Kelly and Evan Turmenne kept trying to spring the speedy forward, and the strategy worked as Morrell scored two breakaway goals in the first half and added a tally early in the second for a 3-0 lead.
“Today, Morse came back with a full roster and proved to be a much tougher team, but we were able to get through a few times and put the ball in,” said Morrell, who enjoys having a chance to play forward when not manning the Brunswick cage. “A lot of times, it’s more fun for me to play up top, and I always like to get a chance to get up front.”
Morse strikers Eric Trautman-Mosher and Ryan Talbot provided the early pressure for the Shipbuilders, with midfielders Blake McElman, Palmer Gosse and Taylor Oddleifson, and defensemen Zach Shaw, Will Beveridge, T.J. Tardif and Caleb Edmondson using the offside trap to keep Brunswick frustrated.
Morse goaltender Charlie Spear had eight saves, while McMillan stopped six shots, all in the first half, before being relieved by Matt Cantu, who didn’t face a shot.
On the other end, the Dragon defense of Garrett Brann, Brandon Sawyer, Justin Rosner and Jack Faherty were solid, especially in the second half when Brunswick outshot Morse 10-4 and scored three goals, one each by Morrell, Will Bann and Wilder Nicholson.
Brunswick 2, Edward Little 1
Rosner converted a throw-in late in the first overtime lifting Brunswick to a Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference victory over Edward Little on Friday.
McMillan staked the Dragons (11-1-2) to a 1-0 halftime lead, but EL tied it midway through the second half on a J.J. Jackson tally.
Morrell earned the win in goal with eight saves, while Eddies goaltender Ian Dollen had 16 stops. The Dragons led in corner kicks 6-2.
Mt. Ararat 5, Morse 2
At Bath on Friday, Nick Oram scored a pair of first-half goals as the Eagles jumped out to a 3-0 lead and pulled away for a KVAC win.
Tim Bickford added a pair for the Eagles, while David Roux completed the Mt. Ararat (6-5-2) scoring late in regulation.
Talbot and Trautman-Mosher scored one goal each for the Shipbuilders.
Spears, Grady Madden and Paul Whalen shared the goaltending duties for Morse, combining on eight saves, while Mt. Ararat netminder Nate Bryant turned aside six shots.
Mt. Ararat is slated to host Erskine Academy on Tuesday at 5 p.m.
sports@timesrecord.com
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