FARMINGTON — Set pieces proved critical for Hampden Academy on Tuesday evening as the Broncos scored twice on throw-ins and once on a corner kick to defeat Mt. Blue 3-0 in a boys’ Class A North soccer game on Caldwell Field.
Hampden (6-1-0) dominated time of possession that resulted in a 31-5 shot advantage over Mt. Blue (1-4-2). The Cougars, however, received a stellar effort in goal from keeper Joe Bowering, who tipped two shots over the bar and made three diving stops at the near post to save goals.
“Joe did a nice job for us tonight,” Mt. Blue coach Joel Smith said. “Their throw-ins killed us and we didn’t battle for any of those balls.”
Hampden’s big throw-in weapon was Nick Gilpin, who launched throws to the middle of the goalie box for his teammates to run onto. The Broncos’ first goal came off a Gilpin throw that settled into the six-yard box, where Nick Chasse smashed home the initial goal of the game at 14:10 of the first half.
Chasse and teammates Gilpin and Ben Huston flashed combination passes all night that gave the Broncos’ front line players quality looks at the net. Between the strength of play by Bowering and the Broncos’ inability to put the ball on frame the Broncos were left frustrated most of the night.
“We’ve been very strong on corners and set pieces this season,” Hampden coach Josh Stevens said. “Every free kick we had, had the potential for goal scoring.”
Playing on the edge of disaster, the Mt. Blue defense collapsed with just 49.5 seconds remaining in the first half when the Broncos played a short corner from the left side of the field. Gilpin tapped a pass to Andrew Gendreau, who fired the ball across the face of the goal for Chasse to head into the net for a 2-0 halftime advantage.
“We have a pretty tall front line and that’s an advantage for us,” Chasse said. “As a team we have been working the ball well and our defense came to play, tonight.”
Mt. Blue’s defensive core group of Dillon Roberts, Devon Hoyt, Thomas Marshall and Zack Mittelstadt worked hard to keep the Cougars within striking distance, helping Bowering to keep the Broncos off the scoreboard in the second half until the final two minutes when Hampden struck on another long throw-in.
Gilpin fired the ball long, into the box, where Chasse nodded a ball towards the back post. Racing to the back side, Tristin McFarlane nudged the ball past Bowering to put the game out of reach.
Hampden finished the game with a 9-0 advantage in corner kicks. Bowering collected 11 saves while his Bronco counterpart Kyle Townsend made two saves.
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