Five times during that period, the Bobcats and Lakers met in the Class D South regional final, along with a quarterfinal and semifinal matchup. These contests, along with two regular season East-West Conference clashes, were often bloody and brutal battles, with red and yellow cards from the officials making each game a long, physical affair.
That is until Wednesday, when the sixth-seeded Lakers visited No. 1 Richmond in the regional final once again. And, it was a long one, but for a different reason.
Eighty minutes of regulation and another 30 of overtime left the teams tied, 1-1, forcing penalty kicks. In two back-and-forth rounds, the visiting Lakers earned a win and a trip to the State Class D title game on Saturday at Fitzpatrick Stadium in Portland at 12:30 p.m.
For Richmond, it was the second straight regional final where penalty kicks decided the outcome, with the Bobcats falling to Buckfield in 2015. This time around, it was a Traj Macfadyen shot that glanced off the fingertips of diving Bobcats netminder Zach Small that ended this affair, with Greenville winning 3-2 in the second set of five-person PKs.
“All we had to do was put one more in,” said Richmond coach Peter Gardner. “It is the nerves and the situation. It is different than standing on the soccer field and playing in a match.”
Small gave his teammates a chance to come out on top. In the first round, the junior made two saves, including keeping his Bobcats alive by scoring on his team’s final shot before stopping Greenville keeper Evan Bjork to send the contest to a second round.
Tied 2-2 through three shooters, a Richmond shot bounced wide, and after Small stopped a Lakers effort, Bjork guessed right and made a save, setting up Macfadyen’s winning try.
Greenville coach Jeff Richards, who coached his sons against Richmond during those rivalry years, said he remembers those back-and-forth tussles with the Bobcats.
“We had four years where we played into double overtime every single time. It makes you an old man quick. Richmond is as good as many of the Class C schools out there,” said Richards. “I hate the fact that we don’t play these guys anymore. I feel like I have spent my whole coaching career battling Richmond.”
Lakers lead
As Gardner said after the game, his team’s first-half performance against Greenville (11-5-1) might have been its worse this season.
The Lakers jumped on top when Ben Baldwin stole a Richmond pass, took one stride and blasted a rising shot into the top left corner of the net for a 1-0 lead with 11:41 left in the first half.
“It came down to what we were trying to do and not doing, and I think the kids sat back a bit in that first half,” said Gardner.
Richmond (15-2) turned that around quickly in the second half. The Bobcats outshot the Lakers, 10-4, and tied the game when Matt Rines found Matt Holt in front of Bjork. Holt blasted a close-range shot into the back of the cage with 31:03 left.
“The combinations of our passing was our focus in the second half. Once we did that, we capitalized on our opportunities,” said Holt. “We established that pressure and had them worried. Our passing was a lot crisper. We showed our passion and work ethic.”
Richmond continued to press, but Bjork kept Greenville even through regulation, making eight saves. The Bobcats continued to press forward in the two overtime periods, firing nine shots toward the Greenville goal. Cody Tribbet and Brady Johnson were both stopped by Bjork, who finished with 10 saves.
“They had the pressure on us, and sometimes it is the luck of the bounces. It was just our day, said Richards.”
“In the second half, we picked it up and did the things that we are capable of doing,” said Gardner. “We did a good job of those things. Greenville did what they had to do. The last part of the game, we were pushing, pushing and pushing.”
Greenville will take on Bangor Christian on Saturday. Bangor Christian downed defending State Class D champion Fort Fairfield, 3-0, in the Class D North final on Wednesday.
Richmond loses seniors Brendan Emmons, Holt, Johnson, Zack Marseglia and Tribbet. These five Bobcats had a successful run, winning a state title in 2014, finishing second in the state as freshman and advancing to consecutive regional finals the past two years.
“These seniors will get over this and go onto the next phase, play basketball,” said Gardner. “Right now it hurts. We know what they wanted to do.”
Small finished with seven saves, and the Bobcats outshot Greenville, 25-10, including 19-4 in the second half and overtime periods.
Greenville 1, Richmond 1
Greenville won in the second round of penalty kicks, 3-2. Class D South Boys Regional Soccer Final
| At | Richmond | |
| Greenville | —100—1 | |
| Richmond | — 010—1 |
Goals — (G) Ben Baldwin; (R) Matt Holt. Assist — (R) Matt Rines. Shots — Richmond 25, Greenville 10. Saves — (G) Evan Bjork 10; (R) Zach Small 7. Corner kicks — Richmond 5, Greenville 3. Penalty kicks — Round one — Greenville – Noah Pratt (save), Connor DiAngelo (goal), Nick Foley (goal), Ben Baldwin (goal), Evan Bjork (save). Richmond – Brendan Emmons (save), Cody Tribbet (goal), Nathan Kendrick (goal), Matt Rines (save), Zach Small (goal). Tie 3-3. Second round — Greenville – Matt Mendes (goal), Chris Caiazzo (goal), Anthony Mason (high), Noah Bilodeau (save), Traj Macfadyen (goal). Richmond – Matt Holt (goal), Zack Marseglia (save), Mitch Couturier (goal), Brady Johnson (wide), Danny Stewart (Save). Greenville wins, 3-2. Records — Greenville 11-5-1; Richmond 15-2. Note — Richmond’s season is completed.
Comments are not available on this story. Read more about why we allow commenting on some stories and not on others.
We believe it's important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It's a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others.
We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion.
You can read more here about our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is also found on our FAQs.
Show less