ORONO — Senior midfielder Kam Stockley scored two pretty goals for the Orono High School boys soccer team, but a timely clearance by senior right back Nathan Frederick early in the second half could have been just as important in Orono’s season-opening 3-1 victory over George Stevens Academy of Blue Hill on Saturday afternoon.
The Red Riots were leading 2-1 seven minutes into the second half when Beowulf Urban’s well-placed corner kick pinballed around in the Orono penalty area. The ball was headed toward the Orono goal as senior goalie Alik Espling tried to scramble across but Frederick was positioned well on the near post and headed it away to preserve the lead.
“Somebody headed it and it was just about to go toward the post and I headed it away,” said Frederick.
“That was key,” said GSA’s Urban.
“It was close. I thought we were going to score,” said GSA’s John Larson, who had scored a beautiful equalizer before Stockley gave Orono the lead for good with 54.1 seconds left in the half.
Stockley added an insurance goal 10 minutes after Frederick’s clearance.
Orono dominated the first half, but GSA senior goalie Tim Cousins made a number of important saves to keep the game scoreless until there was 7:05 remaining.
That’s when Anthony Bottie whipped in a free kick from the right flank, just outside the penalty area, and the ball glanced in off a GSA defender’s head.
But the Eagles tied it off a rare first-half attack 32 seconds later.
Garrison Looke dashed down the right flank and sent a cross that Larson neatly volleyed past Espling with his left foot from 12 yards out.
Both teams had glorious chances over the next six minutes.
Urban’s precise through-ball sent Taylor Astbury in alone down the right side but he dragged his 13-yarder past the far post.
Stockley then had a break-in for Orono, but Cousins came racing off his line and bravely smothered Stockley’s 8-yarder.
Stockley received another break-in opportunity off a nice through-ball from Swedish exchange student Fredrik Linden in the final minute and he converted from 11 yards out to give Orono the halftime lead.
“Their defender lost me so I kicked it ahead and I was faster than he was,” said Stockley. “The goalie came out and I slid it through him, between his arm and where the hole was.”
Orono outshot GSA 17-5 in the first half. Cousins finished with 10 saves while Espling had two.
The Eagles, who were without two starting defenders, turned in a better performance in a more evenly played second half and generated some other chances in addition to the one off Urban’s corner kick.
The highly skilled Urban set up Larson for a shot from the top of the penalty area but it sailed high midway through the half.
Thirty-four seconds later, Linden passed to Stockley for a highlight-reel goal.
“I chipped it over a defender and angled myself so I could kick it into the far corner,” said Stockley.
Espling made three saves on six shots in the second half to finish with five on 11 shots while GSA’s Jacob Reynolds made two stops on eight shots.
“We played very well,” said Orono coach Waldo Caballero, whose team had a 25-11 edge in shots at goal.
“They had an edge on us in fundamentals,” acknowledged Urban.
“We need to continue to get better,” said GSA coach Mark Ensworth.