GRAY — The beauty of the Beautiful Game is sometimes in the eye of the beholder.
“It was a dirty, grimy, defensive-type game, which you love,” Kennebunk boys’ soccer coach Greg Cavanaugh said. “These are specials for these guys. You remember the battles that you play double overtime. And it’s just fun.”
Gray New-Gloucester and Kennebunk played to a 0-0 draw Tuesday. The game might not have lit up the scoreboard, but the coaches said that doesn’t diminish what happened on the field.
“I think that was a lot of fun between two hard-nosed, blue-collar programs,” Patriots coach Andy Higgins said.
In its three games this season, Gray-New Gloucester has become accustomed to seeing zeros on the scoreboard: the still unbeaten Patriots (2-0-1) have yet to allow a goal.
Gray-NG goalkeeper John Henry Villanueva credits a “team effort” for the shutout streak.
“Everybody gets behind the ball when they can, and just work as hard as they can,” Villanueva said. “I’m very confident in the defense. They work as hard as they can all the time, practice and games.”
Higgins said essentially the same thing, but added: “It helps us having John Henry Villanueva in the back.”
Most of the action happened in the midfield, so neither Villanueva nor Kennebunk goalkeeper William Kenneway were especially busy Tuesday, but each came through when necessary, including in the two overtime periods when each faced possibly his biggest threat of the game.
Late in the first overtime, Kenneway left the goal and, as the last line of defense, stuffed a one-on-one charge by Gray-NG’s Oliver Grant.
In the second overtime, Villanueva shut down a dangerous corner kick to help preserve the tie.
“I thought we were fortunate to get out of that with a draw. We didn’t put our best game out there today,” Higgins said. “A little bit of rust from being off for a week, but to get out of here with a draw, we’ll take it, against a quality time like that — they’re going to get some points this year.
“We’re getting out of here with points against a good team; that’s going to get us points moving forward.”
The Class B South Patriots earn valuable points by tying the Class A South Rams.
Kennebunk coach Greg Cavanaugh said tie also will benefit the Rams.
“You’ll never complain about getting some points, especially against a team that came in undefeated,” he said. “That’s a program that has steadily been rising, and they’ve arrived: they’re now at that higher tier.”
The respect between the programs is mutual, and that only increased Tuesday evening.
“That was a lot of fun to watch student-athletes compete against each other and just battle and grind and leave it all out on the field,” Higgins said. “And I think what was more impressive was after the game, the kids not even waiting to shake hands.”
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