GRAY — It was a frustrating day for the Gray-New Gloucester boys’ soccer team.
The Patriots (6-5-2) were down 10 men in the first half when goaltender Nick Rodgers was called for a red card. He went up for the ball on a corner kick and came down on a Cape Elizabeth player where he was called for using excessive force when both players were on the ground. The Capers used the extra space on the field to defeat the Patriots 4-0.
“It was a physical play and he executed a little too much force,” said Gray-New Gloucester head coach Andy Higgins, referring to the referees’ explanation of the red card. “That was his judgment.”
“I liked to see from an ideal situation, the game be decided by the kids in the uniforms.”
Jake LaCerda would replace Rodgers in net.
“He made some big saves,” Higgins said. “You get thrown right in the fire like that, he did a great job. We are fortunate to have a guy ready to go.”
Rodgers and LaCerda combined to make 10 saves for the Patriots.
A few minutes after the red card was issued, the Capers (7-5-1) got on the board when Charlie Laprade picked the ball in the box and fired it into the net with 10:20 remaining in the first half.
“Charlie (Laprade) played well. Omar Khalidi played well on top of him,” said Cape Elizabeth head coach Ben Raymond. “Especially with one less defender, they had more freedom on top to run into.”
To add to Gray-New Gloucester’s frustration, the Patriots thought the whistle should have been blown 30 seconds earlier.
“The first goal, the ball was out of bounds about a yard and a half from our view point,” Higgins stated. “We had our chances, but we didn’t put them away.”
In the second half, the Capers opened the contest up. And 3:45 into the second half, Omar Khalidi was awarded a penalty kick where he made it 2-0. Nearly two minutes later, Laprade notched his second of the game to give Cape Elizabeth a commanding 3-0 lead.
“We played well in the second half. We played well in the first half, too,” said Raymond. “We got some good breaks in the second half. (Their) defense was solid the whole time. We just had a couple balls squeak through.”
With a little over six minutes remaining in the contest, Maam Fall capped the scoring off for the Capers.
It was Senior Day for Gray-New Gloucester and the team started senior Jack Martell who has been injured this season. The ball was quickly kicked out of bounds and he was given a standing ovation when his substitute replaced him.
Gray-New Gloucester will face Freeport on Monday in a final regular season game. Cape Elizabeth’s finale is against Waynflete, which also takes place on Monday.
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