SOUTH PORTLAND — The playoffs appeared to come early for the Kennebunk boys soccer team on Monday night, as they played the South Portland squad to a 1-1 tie, with an intensity normally reserved for late October.
Emotions were running high from the opening whistle, as both teams came out with a physical style of play. The Rams had an early look at a goal five minutes in, as they twice put balls into the box, but couldn’t finish. The Red Riots loaded the box on the defensive end, and it prevented the Kennebunk forwards and midfielders from getting good touches.
South Portland cracked the scoreboard late in the first half, as Robert Graff found Damjan Draskovic deep in the right corner. Draskovic got behind the defense and snuck a ground shot past Kennebunk goalie John Burns, giving the Red Riots a 1-0 lead.
The Rams opened the second half with more purpose than they showed in the first half, and it led to Kennebunk controlling possession and momentum.
“I asked the boys (at halftime) to raise the level of their play a little bit, and they did,” said Kennebunk head coach Nathan Bean. “They responded as well as I could have asked them to.”
The Rams got the equalizer eight minutes in, as Dany Reyes-Caballero found Mike Ottman open at the top of the 18, and Ottman’s shot through a mess in the box found the back of the net.
“It’s about time,” Ottman said about scoring his first goal of the season. “It was a great ball by Dany. He played me across the box, and I just took a left-footed shot. I took a good touch, and just put it away.”
Ottman said all he could think about when he received the pass was “just don’t mess up.”
The goal gave the Rams momentum that they wouldn’t give up for the rest of the half. They got the ball far into the South Portland end numerous times, but couldn’t find a way to connect for a second goal. Reyes-Caballero remained active near the South Portland net, as he placed a ball into the goalie box with 22 minutes to go that was eventually knocked away. Less than a minute later, he ripped a shot from 20 yards out that was deflected wide of the net. The Rams then couldn’t capitalize on the ensuing corner kick.
Kennebunk’s best chance came with less than two minutes to go, but Sam Whalen couldn’t get a touch on a bouncing ball in front of the net off a free kick. Going the other way, Tyler Dolan made a sliding stab at a ball inside the Kennebunk 18 that prevented the Red Riots from scoring with less than a minute to go.
The Rams had some more chances in both overtime periods, but again couldn’t finish. They had one last chance with four seconds to go in the second overtime, but Reyes-Cabellero sent a free kick from 30 yards out over the crossbar.
“We didn’t finish as well as I would have liked. I would have liked to see us put one more in the back of the net,” said Bean.
Still, Bean said he was happy to come away with points from such a hard-fought game.
There were “lots of positives. That was going to be a playoff-caliber game, and that’s a team that’s going to be around in a month, and we might see again,” said Bean. “We would just as soon see them at our place.”
— Contact Wil Kramlich at 282-1535, Ext. 323 or Follow him on Twitter @WilTalkSports.
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