BATH

Despite a solid showing in the second half, Morse lost its season opener, 3-1 to Lincoln Academy in a Class B Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference game Tuesday night under the lights at McMann Field.

The Shipbuilders outplayed the Eagles in the second half, keeping them scoreless and adding a goal of their own by Tucker Banger just moments into the second frame.

“I’m really proud that the boys buried deep in the second half and really got after it,” Morse head coach Chuck Reece said. “They showed a lot of good character there and it’s what I expect the rest of the season.”

The first half started off back and forth with both teams battling for the first 15 minutes, but with 9:46 left Aaron Gonzalez scored off a direct kick from just outside the penalty area to put Lincoln Academy up 1-0. No less than 30 seconds later, Nate Simmons put another one in for the Eagles off an assist from Gus Hunt to quickly stretch the lead to 2-0.

The Shipbuilders were outshot 8-3 in the first half but still played well except for a small stretch late. Defensively, Tyler Young did his best to slow the Lincoln Academy offense down and keep its scoring chances to a minimum.

However, with 1:51 remaining in the first half, Gonzalez put in his second goal of the night to make it 3-0, assisted by Simmons.

Finding their rhythm

The second half belonged to the Shipbuilders, who put up seven shots and had four corner kicks, compared to just three shots and one corner kick in the first half. Banger scored his goal to start the second half when he nailed a shot from outside the goalie box that skimmed the crossbar just over a minute into play.

“It was a nice shot,” Reece said. “He’s capable of shooting from anywhere on the field as long as he keeps his head up and sees those opportunities.”

Morse had plenty more opportunities but failed to capitalize to draw closer. Zidane McMurrin played well for the Shipbuilders, creating scoring chances in what was a physical game.

“I expect it to be physical, especially in the beginning of the year,” Reece said. “We want to be physical, we want to be in those type of mixes because that’s what’s going to help us.”

The Eagles still had their own chances in the second half, mostly due to their strong passing game. Gonzalez ripped a shot that just missed the top left corner of the goal, and later in the second half, Lincoln Academy had another opportunity but Morse goaltender Alex Fernald (six saves) made the stop.

The Morse goalkeeper had another big save when Nolen Michael got the ball to Simmons for an open look to try to get Lincoln Academy its fourth goal, but Fernald made the save with a leap with his arms fully extended to keep the Shipbuilders comeback hopes alive.

Morse had two consecutive corner kicks with about 25 minutes remaining, but the Shipbuilders were unable to draw a goal closer. Sebastian Krull had a nice through pass to McMurrin that helped set up a direct kick when McMurrin was fouled. Again, Morse came out with nothing to show for it but kept the attack up for the rest of the game.

With only four minutes remaining in the game, the Shipbuilders had another chance off a penalty, but Eagles goalkeeper Karan Nair made back to back saves. Then, with just a 1:30 remaining McMurrin had his shot stopped by Nair to keep the score at 3-1.

Lincoln Academy finished with a 14-10 edge in shots, while Morse held a 5-3 advantage in corner kicks.