BANGOR, Maine — There were moments where things got a little dicey for Bangor Christian during the second half of Wednesday’s Class D North boys soccer title game against Central Aroostook of Mars Hill.
Yet even as the Panthers from Mars Hill pressured for the potential tying goal, the Patriots didn’t panic.
Top-seeded Bangor Christian held off a spirited challenge by No. 2 Central Aroostook to post a 1-0 victory at Husson University’s Boucher Field.
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- Taylor Campbell (left) of Central Aroostook and Adam Groski of Bangor Christian battle for control of the ball during Wednesday’s regional championship game in Bangor. (Pete Warner)
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- Caleb Harris (4) and Central Aroostook coach Wallace Endy share a hug as Panthers assistant coach Heather Bradbury and Bangor Christian athletic administrator Kevin Reed look on during the awards ceremony at Wednesday’s Class D North soccer title game in Bangor. (Pete Warner)
Coach Aaron Wilcox’s Patriots (15-2) advance to play the Thursday’s Richmond-Buckfield winner in Saturday’s 3 p.m. state title game at Hampden Academy.
It was the eighth regional championship in nine years for Bangor Christian, which pulled out its sixth one-goal victory this season.
“That’s a little nerve-wracking there at the end, the ball being kicked around and bouncing off people in the air,” admitted Wilcox.
“You try to get that into them, the fact that you have to play a full 80 minutes, because in close games like that, which you’re going to expect in the playoffs, one mistake and a game can be tied or you can lose a game.”
Bangor Christian controlled much of the action most of the afternoon as midfielders Erik Gorczok, Luke Chandler and Parker Shaw, along with forwards Tyler Lehman, Brady Reed and Dean Grass, moved the ball well and mounted numerous forays deep into Central Aroostook territory.
The Patriots outshot the Panthers (15-2) by a 27-12 count and got 12 of them on goal. However, sophomore goalkeeper Brayden Bradbury kept his team in the game throughout.
His best stops included a sliding save against Lehman in the first half and his diving save off a direct kick by Gorczok in the final minute of play.
“He’s a great goalie. I think he’s one of the best around,” said CAHS coach Wallace Endy.
However, the save of the day was made by defender Luke Kearney, who alertly tracked down a header by BC eighth-grader Adam Groski and cleared it off the goal line.
The Panthers gave the Patriots defense plenty to worry about. Some of the instigators were speedy forwards Hunter Wardwell and Caleb Harris, along with hardworking Hayden Kingsbury.
Bangor Christian relied on its defense corps, including Jack York, Micah Martin and Robert DeRoche, along with Christian Boone and Parker Shaw, to help goalkeeper Austin Keib keep Central Aroostook off the scoreboard.
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- Central Aroostook’s Taylor Campbell makes a long pass under the watchful eye of Bangor Christian’s Erik Gorczok in Wednesday’s boys soccer regional title game in Bangor. (Pete Warner)
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- Caleb Harris (left) of Central Aroostook is challenged by Bangor Christian’s Dean Grass during Wednesday’s Class D North soccer championship game in Bangor. Grass scored the only goal in the Patriots’ 1-0 victory. (Pete Warner)
“They’re awesome,” said Gorczok of the defense. “They’ve really stepped it up this year and I’m really proud of them.”
The only goal of the contest came midway through the first half. The crafty Gorczok, who controls the action in the midfield, instead initiated the play with a long, high pass. It sailed over the defense to Grass, who ran onto the ball and wasted no time in rifling a shot to the left of Bradbury.
“The ball just moves differently and they are a great passing team,” Endy said of his players’ difficulty trying to judge balls coming off the artificial turf.
“They had nice touches on the ball and they have experience on this type of field,” he added.
Central Aroostook made a push early in the second half with Jacob Carvell testing Keib with a hard shot from the 18 only six minutes into the period. Even so, the Panthers weren’t able to mount much in the way of consistent offensive pressure.
They finished with five shots on goal.
“We were on our heels a lot,” said York of some second-half sequences. “We just needed to get back on our toes. There’s a lot of communication that goes on in the back that helped us.”
BC added some experience in the back when Wilcox moved Grass back to his former position.
“I moved back to help them out but they stepped up incredibly today,” Grass said. (At) 1-0 anything can happen. One mistake and it’s a tie game.”
Wilcox said this team may have exceeded the expectations of some.
“I don’t think many people expected us to be back here because we lost three key players,” he said.
“But these kids regrouped and put the time in and worked together and came together and played really well as a unit.”
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- Hayden Kingsbury of Central Aroostook moves the ball upfield against pressure from Bangor Christian’s Tyler Lehman during Wednesday’s Class D North soccer final at Husson University in Bangor. The Panthers’ Jacob Carvell (left) and Colby Kingsbury look on. (Pete Warner)
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- Colby Kingsbury (left) of Central Aroostook stops the ball and the progress of Bangor Christian’s Tyler Lehman during the Class D North soccer title game in Bangor. (Pete Warner)
