The Bangor Rams and the Hampden Broncos boys soccer teams combined for 10 second half goals in an action-packed season opener, with Bangor holding on to win 7-5.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Bangor head coach Donny Erb said afterward. “Crazy, crazy game.”
Bangor kicked things off early in the first half, with junior center forward Zach Shaw scoring two goals from distance before the eight-minute mark had passed.
In the second half, Shaw skipped one through the Hampden goalkeeper’s arms to complete a hat trick, later assisting Hampden transfer Jake O’Donnell out on the wing to set up another Bangor goal, making it 4-0 Rams with roughly 20 minutes remaining.
But the Broncos didn’t go away without a fight.
After having two first half goals called back due to offsides, Hampden finally found the back of the net at Cameron Stadium when sophomore Aidyn Ball lofted a shot above Bangor goalkeeper Graeme O’Neal’s head from deep.
Soon after, junior forward Logan LaFrance came off the bench and headed one home, suddenly bringing Hampden within two.
“Getting a yellow card in the first half left me needing to prove something, so I’d like to say I came back and showed out a little bit,” LaFrance said.
With 7:45 to go, Shaw seemingly iced the game with another nice left-footed goal from deep, but Hampden wasn’t finished. Flustered on defense, Bangor found itself unable to clear the ball without fouling, leading to a Hampden penalty kick converted by Aidyn Ball that brought it back to 5-3.
“When they started scoring, it got to our heads,” junior Rams winger Jasper Sparks said.
Bangor’s Erb added, “We lost our composure. We were up quite a bit, and started doing silly things. We stopped playing hard, and then the fouls were really not OK.”
Less than two minutes later, LaFrance scored his second for Hampden, dribbling around the oncoming O’Neal on a breakaway, cutting Bangor’s lead to only one with roughly four minutes to go.
The scoring frenzy only sped up from there, with Hampden pressing dangerously high and Sparks taking advantage.
The newcomer from Bend, Oregon, dashed past Bronco defenders twice to officially slam the door shut on Hampden, neutralizing a third LaFrance goal in the final minutes.
“Jasper’s dangerous. Once he gets by you, it’s hard to catch him,” Erb said.
After the game, both sides were overcome with shock. Bangor and Hampden only play once this year, and Saturday’s matchup was one for the books.
“That was definitely the craziest game I’ve ever experienced in my entire life,” Hampden forward and senior captain Tristan Downer said.
“It felt like whoever had the ball last would win,” Erb said. “The defenses took a break. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Next week, Bangor will welcome Mt. Blue to Cameron Stadium on Tuesday at 6 p.m.
