In a game that seemed to belong to No. 2 Ellsworth for so long, No. 1 John Bapst stole a victory on Wednesday night, coming back from a two-goal second half deficit to win its second consecutive Class B North regional championship, 3-2 in overtime.
The favorite John Bapst had its hands full right off the bat, when Ellsworth’s Cruz Coffin somehow headed in a long throw-in just 34 seconds into play. The reigning Class B boys’ Player of the Year caught the Crusaders off-guard, directing the ball into the goal from inside the 6-yard box with his bleached blonde noggin.
“It was a big surprise,” Bapst junior Ethan Marquis said. “It dampened the mood — we felt it in the first half.”
Playing from behind, the Crusaders couldn’t get into a rhythm offensively, struggling to retain possession and create meaningful chances in the attacking third. John Bapst didn’t get its first corner kick until the 25th minute, and didn’t make an attempt on goal until the 35th.
On the other end of the pitch, Coffin nearly made it 2-0 in the fifth minute of play, speeding past the Bapst sweepers before firing it right at Bapst keeper Connor Messervey, who saved the shot with his legs.
Attacking with confidence, the Eagles managed to break through again in the second half, on another restart with 15 minutes to go. Senior co-captain Owen Frank launched a dangerous set piece into the box, which Messervey eagerly punched away. But before he could get back in net, junior Kal Laslie fired the ball from the edge of the box — and through plenty of traffic — to make it a two-score game.
“It was great in the moment,” Laslie said. “We played fast, we played physical. We thought the outcome would be a little different.”
Bapst finally managed to get on the board with just 10:55 to go, when junior center forward Ethan Marquis was tripped up by sophomore Ellsworth keeper Cooper Mitchell in the box. Mitchell received a yellow card for the foul, and Marquis proceeded to bury the penalty kick bottom left.
Playing with new life, the Crusaders found that exact same corner of Ellsworth’s goal just two minutes later.
“Ethan’s goal helped a lot,” senior Jack Derosier said. “It made a lot of people’s eyes open up.”
Starting when the pesky Marquis drew another foul roughly 25 yards from goal, it was Derosier that punished Ellsworth’s mistake this time around. Rifling a low line drive around the Ellsworth wall, Derosier shocked everyone with John Bapst’s second goal in the blink of an eye, suddenly tying the game at 2-2.
“It felt amazing — it didn’t feel real,” Derosier said. “It didn’t feel real when we won, either.”
In overtime, Ellsworth came out as the better team once again, forcing Messervey to get active early on. Focused, the Crusaders weathered two close calls from Coffin and company, and managed to earn another crucial set piece in the attacking third.
With the crowd on the edge of their seats, the Crusaders calmly lined up another direct kick from 25 yards out — just like before, but slightly closer to the middle where Marquis likes them. Patiently waiting for Derosier to complete his stepover, the junior curled a beauty into that bottom left corner for a third and final time, completing the Bapst comeback with a golden goal.
