AUBURN — Mohamed Adow booted the ball across the field to an open right side of the Hampden goal less than 20 seconds into Wednesday’s Class A North quarterfinal match at Central Maine Community College.
Adow’s shot went a few feet wide, but that scoring chance kicked off a fast start that propelled top-seeded Edward Little to a 5-0 win over the eighth-seeded Broncos.
Edward Little’s Caleb Albert fights to keep possession of the ball as Hampden’s Ethan Marquis closes in during Wednesday’s Class A North boys soccer quarterfinal at Central Maine Community College in Auburn. Emma Meserve photo
The Red Eddies will host No. 4 Lewiston (10-4-1) in the semifinals Saturday at noon at CMCC. The Blue Devils defeated fifth-seeded Camden Hills on penalty kicks in another quarterfinal Wednesday.
Even though Edward Little’s game started 25 minutes later, the Lewiston-Camden Hills matchup on the other side of the Androscoggin River was so long that the Red Eddies left the field not knowing which team was going to be their next opponent.
Coach Max Thompson said that most of the Edward Little players probably preferred to face the rival Blue Devils. However, he said, either opponent would have been difficult to get past.
“We’ve played Camden Hills and Lewiston, and they were both phenomenal,” Thompson said. “We had tight games with both of them throughout the season, so we know that the level is going to increase, and we know that we’re going to have to play better if we want to beat either of those teams.”
THREE THE QUICK WAY
About three minutes after Adow’s miss early in Wednesday’s game, Campbell Cassidy’s long cross deflected off a Hampden defender and into the goal, giving the Red Eddies a 1-0 lead.
Edward Little’s Mohamed Adow jumps for a header during Wednesday’s Class A North quarterfinal against Hampden at Central Maine Community College in Auburn. Emma Meserve photo
Cassidy put one in the net without unintentional assistance off a pass from Adow at the 8:50 mark of the opening half.
Five minutes later, Dayow Daud set up Ethan Boucher for Edward Little’s third goal and a 3-0 lead.
“If we play the right way, I think we feel like we can do that … we feel like we can score against anybody. And, you know, that was good,” Thompson said. “It wasn’t consistent throughout, and credit to Hampden, they battled, they really did work hard and caused us some problems up top a little bit.”
The Red Eddies had more chances, but each was derailed by goalie Sam Burnham (nine saves) and the Hampden defense.
“We had the long bus ride, we had those factors, and it’s one of those things, you’ve got to overcome those challenges to get here,” Broncos coach Madison Hodgdon said. “And once they found that motivation, then they were like, we’re going, ‘This is it, it’s all or nothing.’ It’s a playoff game, and you get here, and you play as a group, play as a team, and it’s about just being together.”
FIGHT TO THE END
The score remained 3-0 until about 11 minutes into the second half when Adow put the ball in the back of the net.
Mohamed Adow, left, and Dayow Daud (10) celebrate after one of Edward Little’s goals in its 5-0 win over Hampden in Wednesday’s Class A North quarterfinal at Central Maine Community College in Auburn. Emma Meserve photo
The Broncos’ play on both ends of the field improved throughout the game, and in the final 20 minutes their offense generated several chances. Most of their shots were high kicks often from the foot of Ethan Marquis, who scored Hampden’s only goal in their 6-1 loss to Edward Little in the second game of the season. Some of those shots soared over the cross bar, but others required leaping saves by Red Eddies goalie Eli St. Laurent (eight saves).
“We have been a second-half team a lot of the season,” Hodgdon said. “We had that talk at halftime: ‘Leave it all out there.’ They had to just go 100%, leave it out on the field tonight, and I think they did that.
“We have a great senior group, and I think it was a really special moment for them to be able to finish this game and play physical and keep up the pace.”
Thompson said that the Red Eddies expected 80 minutes of fight from the Broncos, regardless of the score.
“I thought they worked really hard. And (that’s) just a credit to what they’re doing there,” Thompson said. “They have a lot of seniors, and … you know, guys just have a lot of pride, especially if it’s their last potential game, so I think we knew that they were going to battle the whole way through.”
Edward Little’s Bode Kunas jumps in an attempt to get his foot on the ball in front of Hampden Academy goalie Sam Burnham during Wednesday’s Class A North quarterfinal at Central Maine Community College in Auburn. Emma Meserve photo
With about six minutes remaining in the game, Edward Little sophomore Bode Kunas unintentionally scored the game’s final goal on a free kick from 25 yards out that managed to sneak over Burnham’s hands.
Kunas stood stunned for a few moments, with his hands on his head. As he jogged back to midfield for the kickoff, he said to Thompson, “My bad, coach.”
Thompson said that the plan was for Kunas to send the ball towards the players setting up near the goal for a scoring opportunity.
“From that angle, we’re really not looking for a ball in frame,” Thompson said. “… Sometimes you get a happy accident for a young kid like that. I think it’s going to be a highlight for him. It’s pretty cool, pretty cool.”
BATTLE OF THE BRIDGE 3
Saturday’s semifinal will be the third meeting between Edward Little and Lewiston. The rivals played to a 1-1 draw on Sept. 15, then the Red Eddies capped an unbeaten regular season with a 4-1 win on Oct. 18.
With Wednesday’s win, the Blue Devils avenged two regular season losses to Camden Hills, and they’ll be gunning for more payback on Saturday.
The Red Eddies will be tough to beat, though, as Hodgdon points out.
“They are fantastic on and off the ball. They pass really well, they move off the ball, they communicate, and they certainly don’t stop the physicality,” she said. “They have a serious chance to take this really far, and I’m very happy for them.”
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