TOPSHAM

Friday night’s Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference high school boys soccer game may have been just the third game of the season … for Brunswick and Mt. Ararat it was anything but.

These two adversaries played one of the better games in recent past with the physicality and intensity of a postseason match.

Shots were few, but goalies made top-notch saves and some elbows were placed here and there (just one yellow card), the end result being a well-played 0-0, double-overtime draw.

Brunswick came into the contest at 2-0 with no goals allowed and the defense, led by standout goaltender Greg Walton, bent on occasion, but never broke despite the persistent challenges brought on by messengers Griffin Stockford, Will Hirnak, Nathan Santeramo, Erik Knight, et al.

“I think we worked hard,” said Mt. Ararat (1-1-1) coach Rick Renaud. “We’ve got to be more confident and play with confidence. Same old thing … they underestimate themselves. And that (rivalry) is part of it.

“We were going to mark (Konnor) Scarponi and that was it,” said Renaud of his strategy. “I know what they have … I figured if we could stop him we would be in pretty good shape.”

Walton had 10 saves, but came away with two point-blank stops, the latter in the second OT on an Eric Bowie blast.

“I knew it was going to be physical and we thought that they would come back strong after losing to Lewiston (3-1 earlier in the week),” said the senior Walton. “I knew they were ready to play us and they play us all of the time. They know our best players and we know theirs. It’s a tough game to play because they’re marked up all of the time.”

“We haven’t given up a goal and I like our defense a lot,” added Walton. “When our attack gets going we’ll have a really strong offense going forward. If we can get our midfielders up we’ll be fine. And, it will be better when we play them on our field.”

Mt. Ararat goaltender Gabe Pelletier was also at his best and helped his team weather a first-half dominance by the Dragons as the Scarponi, Ryan Black, Jesse Arford-led charges came out strong, an Arford boot sailing just over the crossbar 13 minutes in.

The action was pretty much back-and-forth with Brunswick’s long boots and chasing wings giving the Eagles a few problems.

With about 15 minutes left in the first half, the Eagles seemingly awoke to the challenges ahead and put on a spirited flurry, led by Santeramo and Hirnak. Santeramo and Jason Tome hooked up on a nice bid that also sailed over the crossbar with about 10 minutes left in the first half and Brunswick’s Blake Gordon just missed wide to the far post three minutes later.

The first half had just seven shots on goal with the visiting Dragons notching four.

“That was a lot of fun,” said Brunswick’s first-year coach Mark Roma. “It was like I was telling the kids, ‘where would you rather be than right here, right now? These are the type of games you want to play.’

“I have ton of respect for them and I thought the first half was one of the best I’ve seen in a long time. It was hard, physical and clean,” added Roma.

Tome highlighted a three-shot flurry early in the second half when he hit the bar and acrobatic Pelletier stopped an onrushing Scarponi from in close as the night heated up. Pelletier also made a nice save on a Gordon offer after a Scarponi corner kick.

Regulation ended with Brunswick holding an 8-7 shots lead and the Eagles opened the first OT period with a nice barrage (Santeramo was wide right from inside the 18) and a long Walton free kick was gobbled up by Pelletier in traffic.

“They picked each other up and I really think there’s not a lot of selfishness,” added Roma. “Going forward, I don’t think they care who scores … they wanted a team win and you could see it.”

“They knew what their jobs were and they knew what they had to do. We didn’t get the result that we wanted, but we get to see them again. I’m happy we came up big when we had to, but we’ve still got work to do. I still feel there are times when they’re little frantic back there and they don’t need to be. I think that’s part of them learning the system that we are playing and becoming more comfortable back there, trusting each other.”

Brunswick 0,
Mt. Ararat 0

Brunswick0000—0
Mt.Ararat0000—0.
Shots — Mt. Ararat 11, Brunswick 10.
Saves — (B) Greg Walton 11, (MA) Gabe Pelletier 10.
Records — Brunswick 2-0-1; Mt. Ararat 1-1-1.
Up next for Brunswick — At Edward Little on
Tuesday.
Up next for Mt. Ararat — Hosting Edward Little
on Thursday.