RICHMOND — The positive spin if you’re a Buckfield boys’ soccer coach, player or enthusiast — and yes, it is worth far more than a footnote — is that the Bucks played 120 sensational minutes this season against rival Richmond.
Richmond being Richmond, however, the Bobcats can make you forget all that in a jiffy.
Four goals in a span of under 11 minutes Thursday afternoon snapped a halftime deadlock, and Richmond avenged a rare, early-season loss at Buckfield with a 4-0 East-West Conference verdict at Coughlin Field.
Two weeks after its 1-0 upset, Buckfield (6-4) was outshot convincingly even before Nate Tribbett’s goal broke the ice at 4:52 of the second half.
Brendan Emmons, Tribbett and Bailey Johansen added goals in quick succession to speed past the visibly stunned Bucks.
“That’s how soccer goes. We played very well at our place. We played excellent the first half. That’s how we know we have to play if we’re going to have any chance at beating them. Play good defense and take our chances when we get them,” Buckfield coach Kyle Rines said. “We didn’t have many chances today. They have definitely improved and I think they wanted to beat us.”
Richmond (5-2-1) also lost to North Yarmouth Academy and tied Traip since the disappointing trip, but that step up to face Class C competition bolstered the Bobcats.
“It was a little bit of revenge,” Richmond coach Joe Scribelitto acknowledged. “We felt out of sorts at Buckfield. We’ve playing a pretty tough schedule right now and I think it shows.”
Only a flurry of brilliant saves by junior goalkeeper Calvin Downey and brilliant defense in front of him, led by Jesse Warren, kept the Bucks even at the break.
The Bobcats attacked throughout the half, owning a 17-3 advantage in shots. Most of those were within the frame, forcing Downey to make 14 saves. The highlight was a flick of his left hand that tipped Tribbett’s one-timer wide of the cage after a perfect set-up by Emmons.
“We were just barely off on the finishing. The kids have been working hard to put their shots on and attack more centrally,” Scribelitto said. “We like to possess the ball and move it on the ground, and I think it showed a little more clearly in the second half when we put together those goals and caught them by surprise.”
Downey kept up his torrid pace out of intermission, making a leaping save to snuff out a 20-yard free kick from Tribbett, then making another jump to cradle his ensuing corner kick.
Richmond’s persistence paid off, though. Cody Tribbett’s chip from just outside the 18 found a leaping Sam Lorbeski, whose attempted header fell at Nate Tribbett’s feet for the breakthrough goal.
“I thought for 50 minutes we played pretty well. We’ve seen that before, though. That’s how it goes,” Rines said. “(Richmond is) younger this year, but they’re still very talented. They’re an excellent template for anybody else that wants to try to build a soccer program.”
The Tribbetts also triggered the Bobcats’ second goal, this time with Nate leading a break and firing a pass to Cody, who centered it back to Emmons.
Nate Tribbett’s second goal was a blast from 20 yards. Johansen capped the scoring with a head-in off Cameron Emmons’ corner kick.
Although the Bobcats had a history of winning in Buckfield before this season, they admittedly struggle with the Bucks’ field compared to their own pastoral layout.
“We spread out. This is probably one of the biggest fields in Class D, 120 by 70 (yards),” Scribelitto said. “These kids like this field. They work hard for home-field advantage.”
Downey finished with 28 saves for the Bucks, who had solid first-half scoring chances off the feet of Jon Randolph and Kyle Chabe.
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