HAMPDEN, Maine — The John Bapst High School boys soccer team from Bangor had its run of three consecutive Class B North championships snapped by Oceanside of Rockland, 2-1, in overtime last fall.
But the top-seeded Crusaders avenged that loss on Wednesday night as senior striker Kapser Hansen scored a pair of goals and junior wing Gavin Rogers scored the other as John Bapst blanked third seed Oceanside 3-0 at the Hampden Academy field.
John Bapst, now 16-0-1, will take on defending state champ Yarmouth, 15-1-1, in Saturday’s 11 a.m. state title game at Cameron Stadium in Bangor.
Oceanside, a 2-1 loser to Yarmouth in overtime in last year’s state game, concluded a 13-4 season.
It was just the second time all season that the Mariners had been shut out. They entered the game averaging 4.25 goals per game.
But the Crusaders have been very stingy, allowing only nine goals all season long with Wednesday’s game being their 10th shutout and 15th game in which they allowed one goal or less.
“Our defense really held them. They have been super strong for us all year long, minimizing the shot opportunities,” said John Bapst coach Jason Pangburn. “(Oceanside) has some really dangerous players. Our defense played well.”
“Our defense is always solid,” said John Bapst senior midfielder Rafa Rentosa. “You can always trust them to take care of strong attackers like (Oceanside’s Guy) Yamba and Lucas Novicka.”
John Bapst goalie Bode Phillips made five saves on 20 Oceanside shot attempts while Oceanside’s Grady Geretz and Cayden Gray combined for five stops on 16 Crusder attempts.
Hansen scored what proved to be the game-winner just 9:46 into the game.
The ball was misplayed by an Oceanside defender and Hansen took full advantage by poking the ball away from the defender, breaking in down the left channel of the penalty area and beating Geretz with a low left-footed shot to the far corner.
“I was able to tap it (free) and I took a few big touches toward the goal,” said Hansen. “I saw the goalie coming toward me and I saw that the right side was open so I was able to shift my hips and get it as far away from the ‘keeper as possible.
“To start off the game with an early goal felt really good,” said Hansen.
“We expected it to be a great game and for Kasper to be able to put in that early one really helped us get things going,” said Pangburn.
The highly-skilled Yamba made a nifty run to maneuver past a pair of defenders and attack the net from a sharp angle to Phillips’ left but he shot it into the side netting.
A few minutes later, Phillips had to be alert to get his hands and chest on a quickly-taken one-hop free kick by Thomas Geddis from the edge of the penalty area.
Rogers expanded the lead 2:58 into the second half off a perfect feed from Ewan Tunney, who made a clever 180-degree spin at the top of the area and then slid the ball right into his path as he broke free down the left channel in the penalty area.
“We practice a lot on making bending runs around the defenders instead of making a flat run and that was a great pass from Ewan,” said Rogers, who neatly slotted a right-footed shot into the far corner past the helpless Geretz.
Just 4:27 later, Hansen scored his second when again he broke free.
Geretz raced off his line to get his chest on the shot but, unfortunately for him, the ball popped into the air off his body and rolled into the goal.
“I tried to place it a little wider than where it went,” said Hansen. “I was very fortunate it went into the goal. I was very happy about that.”
He nearly completed a hat trick later in the game on another break-in but Geretz made a terrific save to rob him.
Phillips’ best save of the night came in the second half as he sprinted off his line to smother Quinn Commeau’s break-in chance.
Pangburn said his senior son Josh and his center back partner Jake Monnier did a stellar job marking Yamba and communicated very well; holding midfielder Luke Derosier turned in an impressive performance keeping an eye on Oceanside midfielder Lucas Novicka and that right back Hayden Pepin created a lot of good offensive opportunities to keep things going in the second half.
“Overall, it was really a team effort,” said Pangburn.
Oceanside head coach Robbie Krul said the first half had “plenty of little moments.
“We had a game plan and we executed it but, unfortunately, we made one error and we were down 1-0,” said Krul. “Typically, we’re a second half team. But they got another quick transition goal early in the second half.”
He noted that his team never panicked and that he was very proud of them.
“I knew John Bapst deserved to be here. I knew it was going to be a tough match. We had a great game with them in Orono. They beat us in overtime (2-1),” said Krul. “We needed a little bit of soccer fortune.
“We gave them a run for the money and I hope they do well in the final,” Krul added.