BANGOR, Maine — That Carson Atherley and Garth Berenyi have been at the forefront of the Bangor High School boys soccer team’s success this fall is no secret.
But the Rams’ 3-1 victory over Camden Hills of Rockport in Wednesday evening’s Class A North championship was a testament to the team’s depth.
Berenyi did score his team-leading 19th goal of the season, but senior Tom Szewczyk had a goal and an assist, as did reserve forward Kyle Jeffrey. Another reserve, David Miller, added his second assist in as many matches.
“We’ve got a lot of talented kids,” said Bangor coach Garth Berenyi. “Sometimes when defenses are shifting or making decisions it gives people opportunities, and they made the most of their opportunities tonight.”
Second-ranked Bangor (15-1-1) faces South champion Gorham (16-0-1) for the state title at 5:30 p.m. Saturday at Fitzpatrick Stadium in Portland. Gorham edged Portland 1-0 in its regional final.
Fifth-ranked Camden Hills, which had knocked off defending state champion Lewiston and top-ranked Edward Little of Auburn to reach the North final, wound up 11-5-1.
“The biggest thing about Bangor is they get to every ball and go hard to it, and a lot of times tonight they just beat us to those 50-50 balls,” said Camden Hills senior striker Josiah Krul, who scored the Windjammers’ lone goal with 5:10 left in the match.
“They went to the ball, they got it, and they deserved it,” he added.
Both teams generated offensive opportunities early in the match, with Bangor’s Colin Waterman and Jacob Berenyi joining Garth Berenyi and Atherley on the attack while Krul and Kieran Lydon countered with bids for Camden Hills.
Bangor broke on top with 25:07 left in the half when Berenyi blasted a shot inside the left post from the right wing after taking a short pass from Szewczyk.
“Carson won the ball from the other team and slid me in down the flank and it was a really good ball,” said Szewczyk. “Garth called for it, and I just laid it back to him, and he had a really good finish.”
Jeffrey and Miller combined to make it 2-0 with 3:14 left in the half, as Miller lined a low crossing pass from deep in the right corner through the goalmouth to Jeffrey, who one-timed the ball inside the left post past Camden Hills goalie Lucas Boetsch.
“Kyle had a really composed finish, which is not easy to do, especially in a game like this,” said coach Garth Berenyi. “Our subs have been coming in and make a difference.”
Szewczyk made it 3-0 with eight minutes left in the match, heading a corner kick by Jeffrey toward the goal, only to have it deflected by a Camden Hills defender past Boetsch.
Bangor finished with a 19-6 shots advantage, with senior George Payne making three saves for the Rams and Boetsch making nine stops for the Windjammers.
“Each game we get even more hungry because we’re one step closer,” said Garth Berenyi. “Tonight we were like, ‘This is it,’ and at halftime with a 2-nil lead, we could see that the states were right there. Then we came out and did what we have to do, and now we’re ready for Gorham.”
