Coming into Thursday’s key Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference boys high school soccer game against unbeaten Lewiston, Brunswick coach Mark Roma faced two daunting tasks.
First, try to get his team over its recent scoring funk (two consecutive shutouts), and win without injured defenders Jimmy Kenyon and Parker Wild.
Lewiston was the wrong team for the hurting Dragons.
The Blue Devils kept the pressure on the Dragons throughout, rolling to a dominating 3-0 victory as Brunswick fell to 0-2-1 in its last three games.
“They certainly play well together, not one individual, and they are tough to defend against, but hats off to them. They will be tough going forward,” said Roma, of the Blue Devils. Brunswick will look to end its struggles at Cony today at 3:30 p.m. “We have to defend better. Instead of panicking, defend better and break from that. This is where we are letting ourselves down. Right now, I feel it is more mental.”
Lewiston ahead
After Lewiston goaltender Eric Soucy stopped a long direct kick from Brunswick (2-2-1) standout Konnor Scarponi four minutes in, the Blue Devils owned the rest of the opening 40 minutes.
Brunswick netminder Greg Walton was busy, turning aside eight Lewiston shots in the first half. However, one Lewiston chance eluded him, as Shaleh battled through the Dragons defense and deposited a shot high inside the right post with 13:45 remaining in the first half.
Lewiston, playing its first road game of the season, kept coming, taking four corner kicks and outshooting the Dragons 17-2 in the opening 40 minutes.
“They are just fast, but it will help when we get Jimmy and Parker back,” said Walton, who was superb in turning away 14 Lewiston shots. “With them out of the lineup, we have to pull others back and it messes us up. We need to work harder in practice and start stringing passes together.”
“We have a good team, skilled, quick, but for the most part they want to do well, and when you win it is good,” said Lewiston coach Mike McGraw. “They’re fun to watch. As long as they keep playing hard and remain unselfish, they will do well.”
“It all started for us defensively and working together as a team today,” said Shariff-Hersi, who staked the Blue Devils to a 2-0 lead just 5:21 into the second half. “We are working to fight until the game is over, knowing that we can’t stop. Brunswick has always been a great team, and we know we had to come in here and play hard.”
“It was extremely important to get that second goal because you know the tradition of Brunswick, a team that will play an up-tempo game,” said McGraw.
Brunswick managed to produce a little offense down the stretch, led by Scarponi. Ryan Black sent a pass upfield that was misplayed by the Lewiston defense. Scarponi gained control and fired a hard, low shot, with Soucy diving to his left to make the goal-saving stop.
“That is what goalkeepers do,” said McGraw, who watched his goaltender make four saves in all. “You can’t give Scarponi two seconds. He’s just too good. He is an impact player for them, and he can change the game in a heartbeat.”
Lewiston put the game away late in regulation as Yusuf Yama gathered a pass from hustling Mohamed Ali and deposited a shot past Walton with 4:15 remaining.
“You go through these funks, but I am glad to be going through it early rather than late in the season in October,” said Roma. “We just have to keep playing through, learn from this and figure some things out. We have something to work with.”
Lewiston 3,
Brunswick 0
At Brunswick High School
Lewiston — 1 2 — 3
Brunswick — 0 0 — 0
Goals — (L) Abdullahi Shaleh, Abdi Shariff Hersi, Yusuf Yama.
Assists — (L) Abdullahi Shaleh,
Mohamed Ali.
Shots — Lewiston, 31-8.
Saves — (L) Eric Soucy 4; (B) Greg Walton 14.
Corner kicks — Lewiston, 6-5.
Records — Lewiston 5-0, Brunswick 2-2-1.
Next — The Blue Devils head to Skowhegan on Saturday, while the Dragons visit
Cony on Friday.
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