FARMINGTON — The Mt. Blue Cougars shrugged off Bangor’s 4-0 lead and played liked a team that was only down a goal late in the second half.
But the Cougars’ last-minute heroics were not enough as the undefeated Rams held on to a 4-2 victory in a Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference boys’ soccer game at chilly Caldwell Field on Tuesday evening.
After Bangor senior forward Kyle Jeffrey scored on a penalty kick with 7:14 left in the game, the Cougars revolted and their insurgency netted two goals just minutes apart.
Sam Smith shattered the Rams’ would-be shutout on a breakaway goal at 4:31.
With 1:36 in the game, Mick Gurney scored on Aiden Thompson-Vougl assist after Smith nearly scored on another breakaway.
“We played better in the second half,” Mt. Blue coach Joel Smith said. “Three set pieces — just asleep on our own goal kick at the beginning and that set the tone of the game and we struggled to dig out — and unfortunately two goals in the last four minutes of the game doesn’t win us a game — especially against a state champion like they are.
“They are a good team. They do what they need to do. Very disciplined. Very poised.
“I watched them last year in the state game and they do what they do very well. They just play so nice and they capitalize when they need to capitalize. They don’t panic and they are poised.”
In the first half, Bangor was firmly control and there was not much the Cougars could do about it, either.
Bangor’s Garth Berenyi spent a great deal of time in front of the Mt. Blue net, eventually scoring back-to-back goals, with Jacob Berenyi picking up the assist on one of them.
Jacob Berenyi tried his hand a scoring next time around and netted Bangor’s third goal with 15:06 left in the first half.
The Rams headed into the half with a 3-0 lead.
“I thought the first half was a really good half for us,” Bangor coach Garth Berenyi said. “I thought we started the second half out a little slow.
“Give credit to Mt. Blue. They came out and played pretty hard and then we lost our composure a little bit toward the end. I thought we really controlled the game.”
Bangor junior Roland Mattsen (3) keeps an eye on the ball as teammate Alec Jansujwicz (1) and Mt. Blue’s Joe Crandall watch from behind in a soccer game at Caldwell Field in Farmington on Tuesday.Bangor’s David Miller (15) drills that at Mt. Blue goalie Tucker Carleton as teammate Joe Crandall (11) watches in a soccer game at Caldwell Field in Farmington on Tuesday.Bangor’s Henry Nagle leads the ball as Mt. Blue’s Mick Gurney (7) and Eli Yeaton (19) watch in a soccer game at Caldwell Field in Farmington on Tuesday.
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