ELLSWORTH, Maine — Ellsworth High School sophomore Tom Sawyer admitted he was “very nervous” when he came in to replace injured goalkeeper Jordan Carter (broken arm) with 35:54 remaining in regulation and his Eagles holding a 1-0 lead over Camden Hills in their Eastern Maine Class B semifinal soccer game Saturday.
Sawyer, a reserve wing midfielder for the varsity and the starting goalie for the JV team, made the one crucial save he had to make to preserve the 1-0 triumph.
Top seed Ellsworth, 15-0-1, will host second seed Presque Isle, 14-0-2, in Wednesday’s regional championship game. Camden Hills of Rockport finished 13-3.
Sawyer’s save came off Andrew Flanagan with 6:10 remaining as Flanagan ran on to a deflected shot by Max Twaddel in the right side of the penalty area, 14 yards from goal.
Sawyer held the near post and absorbed the shot with his arms and chest.
“I thought he was going to dribble in, but I saw him bring back his foot for a volley, so I got as close to the near post as I could and it came right to me,” said Sawyer.
“I got a good connection on it, but I put it in the wrong place. I was trying to go far post with it. It was a pretty tough shot, but I was mad that I missed it. It was one I should have had,” said sophomore Flanagan.
Three minutes later, Sam Predham cleverly maneuvered around a defender down the left flank and crossed it to Jimmy Weferling. But Weferling was well covered and his one-timer rolled wide of the near post.
Those were two of just three good scoring chances created by Camden Hills all afternoon as the Eagles put on a masterful defensive clinic that left the Windjammers frustrated.
Drew Barkhouse’s fourth goal of the season, a glancing header off a Matt Duhaime corner with 16:53 left in the first half, supplied the margin of victory.
Mike Curtis and Seth Cote did an exceptional job marking the talented Weferling and Predham, respectively, and sweeper Brad Folmer made smart decisions and timely interventions while playing a virtually mistake-free game.
Stopper Andrew Austin was also solid, and scoring leader Zach Emeigh became a defensive presence in the second half as coach Brian Higgins elected to use him more as a holding midfielder than an attacking midfielder to protect the lead.
“`They were definitely getting back behind the ball and stepping and making sure we didn’t take easy shots,” said Camden Hills’ Zach Wincklhofer. “They’re a great team.”
Ellsworth had the wind in the first half and completely controlled play. Only the exceptional play of sophomore goalie Ian Cushing, midfielder Wincklhofer and striker Predham kept Camden Hills within a goal at halftime.
The Eagles’ dominance was finally rewarded when Barkhouse broke free and headed the ball home from eight yards out.
“I always hang out at the back end of the six. Duhaime’s corner sailed right over everybody and I just got a head on it,” said Barkhouse. “[Higgins] always says just keep your head down until you hear the cheers from the fans. That’s all I did.”
“It sailed over my head and their kid came in hard on it and put it in. It was a good goal,” said Cushing, who finished with six saves on 15 shots.
Sawyer made two saves on eight shots after Carter had made one on six shots.
Carter was injured when he collided with Weferling on a 50-50 ball. Predham crossed the ball from the left flank and the ball, Weferling and Carter all arrived at virtually the same time.
Carter was taken to Maine Coast Memorial Hospital in Ellsworth, then to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor where his left arm was re-aligned and set, according to Barkhouse, who visited his teammate. Carter did not require surgery because the breaks were clean.
Carter returned home Saturday night and will have a cast placed on his arm once the swelling subsides.