BANGOR, Maine — Senior defender Jack Bourassa tipped in a direct kick by classmate Josh Sherwood 2:52 into overtime Tuesday evening to lift Bangor past Edward Little of Auburn 2-1 in a Class A North boys soccer quarterfinal played at Boucher Field on the campus of Husson University.
Sherwood was awarded a direct kick from about 25 yards out along the inner left wing. He lined a shot toward the near post that may have been bound for the back of the net on its own before Bourassa made sure by cutting across the goalmouth to get his foot on the ball.
“I had hit a few good shots before, one that hit the crossbar, and coach (Garth Berenyi) told me that their goalie was going to get everything that was in the air so just put it on the floor,” said Sherwood, one of Bangor’s tri-captains along with Bourassa and the Rams’ other goal scorer in the match, senior midfielder Conor O’Brien.
“I just hit it toward that near post. My shots had been on pretty much the whole game, so I was due.”
The win advances third-seeded Bangor (11-1-3) to Saturday’s regional semifinal at the only school to defeat the Rams so far this season, second-seeded Mt. Ararat of Topsham.
Mt. Ararat (12-2-1), which topped No. 7 Hampden Academy 3-0 in its quarterfinal, scored in double overtime to outlast Bangor 1-0 on Sept. 29.
“We definitely played better than we had the last few games, we’re definitely on the upswing,” said O’Brien. “We outplayed (Edward Little), but they came in with a good game plan and we just couldn’t finish but we finally got the result and that’s all that matters.”
Sixth-ranked Edward Little (6-8-1) entered the match with the confidence of having played Bangor to a 1-1 tie in their earlier meeting at Auburn on Oct. 11 . It also possessed a dangerous scoring threat through long, flip throw-ins from sophomore Jake Jackson toward 6-foot-6 senior Wol Maiwen.
Bangor dominated the early stages of the rematch and took a 1-0 lead with 11:24 left in the opening half. O’Brien took a crossing pass from Cam Richmond and rifled a 30-yard shot just under the crossbar in the middle of the goal.
The Rams continued to control play during the opening 15 minutes of the second half before Edward Little finally sustained possession in its offensive end and capitalized when junior midfielder Omar Omar one-timed the ball out of the air from close range to forge a 1-1 tie.
“He was right on the goal line, and it was a super impressive shot,” said Sherwood.
Bangor, which outscored its opponents 44-7 during the regular season, answered with immediate offensive pressure over the next few minutes. O’Brien fed Colin Waterman deep along the right wing for two threatening bids, Sherwood blasted a shot over the crossbar, and Lasse Keim offered a low test from the left wing that required a save at the near post.
Finally the match went to the first of two possible 15-minute overtimes, and it didn’t take long for two of Bangor’s most experienced players to make the most of the high-pressure situation.
“We saw throughout the game that Josh was hitting balls consistently on goal,” said Bourassa. “He had hit a couple of crossbars, and recognizing that they had a 6-6 guy in the back we weren’t going to win many headers over him so the most important thing was to get in front of the ball and try to set a screen.
“I swung a leg at it and was lucky to get a stud on it but that’s all it takes and we keep playing.”
