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WINDHAM—While it might not have been at the forefront of their minds, players on the Windham boys’ soccer team had to be looking forward to getting another shot at the Portland Bulldogs after Portland eliminated the Eagles, on their homefield no less, from last year’s playoffs.
And Friday evening, Windham got its shot at revenge.
And in typical fashion, seized it.
With little time to spare.
The Eagles struck first, less than 10 minutes into the game when the dynamic senior tandem of captain Luke Cuniffe and Sam Rogers produced a pretty goal, as Rogers finished a feed from Cuniffe to make it 1-0.
The Bulldogs answered with only 40 seconds remaining in the first half, when senior Ronan Mas converted a free kick from just outside the box with a perfectly placed shot.
Portland then carried play for much of the second half, but couldn’t go in front and with 10:14 to go, Rogers played the hero, taking advantage of a defensive miscue and putting the ball into the net.
Windham’s defense slammed the door from there and the Eagles earned arguably their most impactful victory of the season to date, 2-1.
Windham improved to 9-1-1, dropped the Bulldogs to 8-2-1 and took a step closer to earning all-important homefield advantage for the upcoming playoffs.
“I’d say this was our biggest win of the season,,” said Rogers. “Last year was on our minds a little bit, so I’m really excited right now.”
Another fight to the finish
Portland and Windham have played their share of thrillers this autumn.
The Eagles won their first seven outings, blanking Gorham (3-0), Bonny Eagle (6-0), Westbrook (1-0), reigning regional champion Deering (2-0), Thornton Academy (7-0), Kennebunk (3-0) and Marshwood (2-0), before surrendering their first goal, which resulted in their first loss, 1-0, in overtime, to Scarborough. After getting past Biddeford in double-overtime (2-1), Windham scored with 12 seconds to go in regulation to salvage a 2-2 tie at Falmouth Wednesday.
The Bulldogs, meanwhile, needed more than 80 minutes to win each of their first three contests, edging visiting Deering, in a Class A South Final rematch in the opener, 1-0, then surviving host South Portland in OT (1-0) before needing double-overtime to down visiting Falmouth (2-1). Portland then took care of visiting Bonny Eagle (7-1) and host Massabesic (8-0) in regulation before falling at Gorham, 2-1, and settling for a 1-1 draw at Scarborough. The Bulldogs then flipped the switch offensively and handled visiting Sanford (9-0), giving longtime coach Rocco Frenzilli his 300th career win, before knocking off visiting Kennebunk (4-2) and host Cheverus (5-1).
The teams didn’t meet in the regular season a year ago, but they faced off in a memorable Class A South semifinal where Portland upset the host, top-ranked Eagles on penalty kicks.
Windham coach Jeff Neal said that his team didn’t talk about that game heading into this showdown.
“I’m sure last year was on their minds,” Neal said. “It’s a veteran group and it was a heartbreak of an ending, but we haven’t talked about it. It’s a new season, new opportunities and we’ve moved on. We like to think that mentality pays dividends on the pitch.”
Friday, on a comfortable mid-October evening (58 degrees at kickoff), both teams had their chances to escape with a victory, but it would be the Eagles striking when it mattered most.
The Eagles came out strong in the first five minutes, but couldn’t score as Bulldogs senior goalkeeper Marco Cifuentes-Robles came out to beat Cuniffe to a serve from Rogers, then a header from sophomore Caleb Hayman was saved by Cifuentes-Robles.
At the other end, Mas’ first free kick, from 35 yards, was saved by diving Windham senior goalkeeper Lukas Hammond and a subsequent corner kick didn’t result in a shot.
In the ninth minute, Portland had a great opportunity to strike first, as a cross from junior Bunga Pedro got past Hammond and came in front to junior Baptista Muanda, but a defender tied Muanda up just long enough for the ball to be cleared.
Then, with 30:28 to go in the first half, the Eagles struck, as Cuniffe played a perfect through ball ahead to Rogers, who stayed on-sides, got behind a defender and when Cifuentes-Robles came out to challenge him, Rogers dribbled around the keeper, to his right, then sent the ball into the open net to make it 1-0.
“I saw the keeper coming out, so I didn’t want to shoot it,” Rogers said. “That was my first instinct, but he was close to me, so I took a touch out wide, then sent it in.”
The Bulldogs hoped to answer, but Hammond stopped a shot from senior David Mawangu, a long Mas free kick was cleared and a shot from senior Felisberto Mamuisi was saved by Hammond.
But inside the final minute, Portland would break through.
Off a corner kick, a foul was called up top and Mas lined up a free kick from about 20 yards away. With 40.4 seconds showing, Mas fired a low blast through the wall and past a diving Hammond, just inside the right post, tying the score, 1-1.
“(Ronan) needed that,” said Frenzilli. “He’s been struggling a little bit with dead balls, so I was happy for him to get that.”
The Bulldogs enjoyed a 4-2 edge in shots on frame and a 4-1 advantage in corner kicks in the first half and for much of the second half, they would be on the attack, but ultimately, they left with nothing to show for it.
Just 35 seconds into the second half, Muanda got some space, but he ripped a left-footed blast just high.
Senior Paulo Joao then stole the ball and set up senior Osvaldo Silva for a shot, but Hammond made the save.
With 30:35 to play, Windham appeared to strike again and go on top, as senior Garrett Crossman sent in a long free kick and Cuniffe ran on to it and headed it home, but much to the Eagles’ chagrin, the goal was waved off as Cuniffe was ruled offsides.
Portland then went back on the attack, but Hammond came out to punch away a Mas free kick.
At the other end, Cifuentes-Robles had to dive to deny a 30-yard free kick bomb from Cuniffe.
The back-and-forth continued, as Pedro missed wide and Rodrigues-Nkanza had a shot saved by Hammond and at the other end, Cuniffe had a shot saved, then he had a rush broken up by Mas.
After a deflected shot by Mawangu was saved by Hammond, Muanda and Mas were each off-target for the Bulldogs.
Then, with just 10:14 to play, the Eagles got a break and Rogers came up huge, as he took advantage of a defensive miscue and buried a shot just inside the near post for a 2-1 lead.
The Bulldogs argued that Rogers was offsides, but the goal stood.
“I saw two defenders in front of me and I just made the run,” Rogers said. “I expected the ball to be cleared out. The defender made a mis-kick and I tapped it in. It was a great feeling.”
“When the players trust the system, they move the ball,” said Neal. “We have the group that can execute. We were playing a little too north and south and I think that allowed them to win more possession, but we came out of it.”
Portland was left staggered.
“We felt as though something would break, but unfortunately, it broke for them and not for us,” Frenzilli lamented. “I told the guys a split second of indecision would be the difference. At halftime, we said to be proactive instead of reactive because when you’re reactive, you end up on the short end of it. (Windham) took advantage. They brought that play to us and we didn’t answer. The kid did what he needed to do.”
The game wasn’t over, but the Bulldogs never got another great chance.
After Hammond beat junior Loic Ramanzani to a Mas feed, Pedro missed just high, a Mas free kick was cleared, Hammond came out to field a Rodrigues-Nkanza cross and one final clear from Cuniffe brought the curtain down on the 2-1 victory.
“Last year, they came in here and outworked us, but our work rate was great tonight,” said Rogers. “It was an all-around great team effort.”
“It’s a great team victory,” Neal said. “I’m super-proud of our boys. It was definitely a battle against a good team. We got back on our heels a little bit in the second half and they got momentum and we got a goal that got called back, but we kept our composure and did what we had to do. Credit to the captains, to Luke and Lukas, and our senior leadership. We’re a deep group. They care for each other, they play for each other and they battle. There’s no quit in these kids. Even if they get down or frustrated.”
Portland ended up outshooting Windham, 7-4, got two saves from Cifuentes-Robles and had a 4-1 edge in corner kicks, but fell short.
“Everyone gave everything they had and we did some good things,” Frenzilli said. “I’m proud of how the kids handled themselves. It’s a tough environment up here. It was a tournament atmosphere. I told them after the game, this is what the next few weeks of the season will be like with all these teams having a chance. Credit to (Windham) for getting their two and holding us to our one. It’s a tough one.”
Chasing the top spot
Windham (currently ranked second behind Falmouth in the Class A South Heal Points standings) is back in action Tuesday at Cheverus. The Eagles then host South Portland and go to Gorham to wrap up the regular season.
Windham, unlike most of its top competitors, plays on grass and it hopes to get as many home playoff games as it can.
“It’s very important to have home playoff games,” said Rogers. “The atmosphere here is great. Our biggest thing right now is getting homefield advantage. We just have to work as a team and focus in practice. We’ll take every game seriously and that’s how we’ll go deep in the playoffs.”
“We’ve played well on the road too, but we want to play on our home pitch in front of our home crowd,” Neal said. “If we take care of business on the way out, I’d like to think we can have a homestand.
“We have to live in the moment and take advantage of the opportunities we have. It’s about the here and now and living in the moment.”
Portland (third in Class A South) is back in action Monday at home versus Marshwood. The Bulldogs then host Noble next Friday and close with a showdown at Deering Oct. 21.
Portland is looking to close on a high note and again be at its best for the postseason.
“We have three big games left, then we’ll see how it shakes out tournament-wise,” said Frenzilli. “As tough as this was, I think it was good for us because we know we have to play like this, if not better than this, all the way through because this tournament this year will be so balanced that games like this will, I think, be the norm.”
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