PARIS — If familiarity breeds success, the Edward Little boys’ soccer team will be just fine this season.
Red Eddies coach Dave Morin watched his team get itself into a familiar position Saturday, as Oxford Hills rode the wind to an early two-goal lead. EL fought through the wind to earn a penalty shot goal to cut the deficit to one, and set sail in the second half with another pair in a some-from-behind, 3-2 victory over Oxford Hills at the Don Gouin Athletic Complex in the teams’ season-opening KVAC soccer tilt.
“I thought we dominated the second half,” Morin said. “We were missing the net in the first half, and all of a sudden, we gave up those two quick goals. They’re an aggressive team, and they almost took advantage of it.”
Jared Pelletier made up for it in leg strength what he lacks in height. With a deficit still staring the visitors in the face with less than 11 minutes to play in the game, Pelletier spotted the ball up for a free kick well outside the 18-yard box near the right sideline. Instead of lofting the ball into the penalty area and hoping for a deflection, he fired the ball at the cage. A gust of wind carried the shot just underneath the crossbar, and Vikings’ keeper Matt McVety couldn’t get enough of it to keep it out of the cage.
“I was thinking of putting it on the cage the whole time,” Pelletier said. “I really had the two options, and I thought I’d go for it.”
That strike evened the game at 2-2. Less than a minute later, Pelletier struck again. This time, from 15 yards deeper, he again took aim at the goal. The ball struck the right-side post and ricocheted back to the left, Pelletier’s regular side of the field. Tim Mains was there to pound home the rebound, putting the Eddies in front.
“We switched, because he was taking the kick,” Mains said. “The ball came right out off the post and the goal was open.”
The contest was a windy affair, with the gusts helping Oxford Hills in the first half, and Edward Little in the second. The Vikings took advantage in their half, getting some help from the breeze and from some suspect goaltending.
Matt Beauchesne got the home squad on the board in the 15th minute on a drive to the low right corner of the cage on a ball that EL started Jeremy Hamm appeared to misplay. Less than six minutes later, a shot from more than 30 yards out hit Hamm in the hands and popped into the cage.
“This played out pretty much the same as it did last year,” Oxford hills coach Chris Morin said. “We had a 2-0 lead and they got one back before the half and went from there.”
Pelletier made a spin move just inside the box on the right wing with less than five minutes to play in the first half and an Oxford Hills defender tripped him, sending him to the penalty stripe. He buried the ball in the lower left corner to cut the Eddies’ deficit in half, giving his team the momentum before halftime.
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- Oxford Hills defenders Tyler Truman, right, and Nick Record swamp Edward Little’s J.J. Jackson during the first half of their game in Paris Saturday. The Red Eddies rallied in the second half and won 3-2.
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- Edward Little’s Connor Harris quickly changes direction after Oxford Hills’ Garrett Hudanish redirected the ball during the first half of their game Saturday in Paris. Edward Little won 3-2.
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- Oxford Hills’ Collin Tucker smashes into Edward Little’s Adam Timberlake during their game Saturday.
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- Edward Little’s Ian Therriault fights with Brian Lynch over the ball in the first half of their game Saturday.
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- Ref David Boucher watches Edward Little’s first goal slip past Oxford Hills’ goalie Matt McVety in the first half of their game.
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