BANGOR

Monday night’s Class A North boys soccer semifinal looked to be over when Bangor punched in a controversial second goal at the 10:57 mark in the second half.

As he charged off his line, Mt. Ararat keeper Gavin Patterson had the ball poked out of his grasp and turned around to watch the ball roll into the net. The score left the Eagles outraged and down a pair of goals.

But they didn’t come this far for nothing.

With just over a minute to go, Max Spelke took advantage of a loose ball at the top of the box and struck it snugly into the top corner to get Mt. Ararat on the board. A quick interception on the Bangor tap sent the ball back down into the Rams’ zone and into danger, where an Eagles shot was blocked before heading toward the net.

Seconds remained as the ball was trapped in the corner and eventually cleared to give Bangor the 2-1 regional final-clinching win. For the Eagles, they just ran out of time.

“We fought ‘til the end,” Mt. Ararat coach Jack Rioux said. “We gave it everything we had. We battled ‘til the end. You can’t say enough, scoring a goal with a minute left. Gave ourselves a chance to get in it.”

“I’m so proud. I couldn’t be more proud of the team,” senior captain James Hutchinson said. “Last year we lost so many games and we came back and only lost three games this year. I think they’re going to be the state champions. They’re a great team, they’ve got some great players. We fought to the final whistle, but it just wasn’t in the cards for us.”

Rioux knew that if No. 3 Mt. Ararat (13-3) was going to come out with a win, it had to shut down Garth Berenyi and Carson Atherley, the two biggest weapons for No. 2 Bangor (14-1-1). The man-marking tactic worked for the majority of the match, but one combination between the two midfielders proved deadly.

At the 14:36 mark in the first frame, Atherley dribbled into the box and took a hard right turn at the end line. After he got by a Mt. Ararat defender, he looked up and slid a precisely placed ball back up to Berenyi, who finished into the bottom right corner to make the score 1-0.

All it took was one sequence.

“We know everything goes through Berenyi up top,” Rioux said. “Goes through him and Carson. We wanted to have a guy on each one of those and if we were going to lose, we didn’t want those two to beat us.”

“We marked their key players, that’s Carson and Garth,” Hutchinson said. “They’re two of the best players in the state — they’re on my Seacoast team, I’m used to what they do. They’re one-two-ing, they’re winning the ball, they’re doing everything.”

Wild second

After just three total shots in the first 40 minutes, the Eagles came out with guns blazing in the second. Bangor keeper George Payne was first truly tested in the 42nd minute, when he had to push a Jimmy Pelletier header wide on a corner. On the ensuing corner, Payne made a wicked save on Nick Merrill’s rebound take to keep his clean sheet intact. Mt. Ararat managed nine shots in the second half, with Spelke’s try finally finding the back of the net with 1:07 remaining.

On the other end, Patterson and his defense had their work cut out for them with 15 shots (12 on frame) from Bangor. Following multiple key saves in the middle of the half, Patterson charged off his line on a through ball and gave up a free kick when he touched it outside the 18. He was also yellow-carded for throwing the ball away, forcing senior backup Elliot Bowie to fill in briefly. Bowie caught the initial free kick and made two more saves before making way for Patterson.

“Gavin made a couple huge, huge saves for us which was awesome,” Rioux said. “When Elliot went in, he made a couple of big saves. I have been fortunate enough that I’ve had two great goalies.”

Dalton Streeter came to the rescue in the 69th minute when he cleared a sure goal off the line and kept the score at 1-0. Patterson made two more key saves after Josh Sherwood was credited with Bangor’s second goal late and finished with seven blocks.

Monday’s setback was the second to Bangor during a solid 13-win campaign for the Eagles. A nine-match winning streak and a monumental 2-1 win over defending state champion Lewiston on Sept. 23 headlined what was a wildly successful campaign for the Eagles.

It may have come to an end in the semifinals, but with a large group of experienced players poised to come back in 2017, it didn’t feel like the end for Rioux and the players. It felt like a run to be remembered.

“Personally, I think it’s been great,” Rioux said. “This year’s been huge — it’s been a great run and a lot of it goes to our senior leadership. Those guys, they’ve seen a lot of great times, last year was a little tough, and it’s just been awesome for the program. Just trying to continue what coach (Rick) Renaud did in his 30 years here. “

“I think it gives us confidence,” Hutchinson said. “I think next year, we’re going to have three of the best players in the state. Travis (Nadeau), Max (Spelke), Gavin (Patterson) in goal. They’re going to be amazing. I’m going to miss it.”

No. 2 Bangor 2,
No. 3 Mt. Ararat 1

Class A North Boys
Soccer Semifinal
At Bangor High School
Mt. Ararat — 0 1 — 1
Bangor — 1 1 — 2
Goals — (MtA) Max Spelke; (B)
Garth Berenyi, Josh Sherwood.
Assists — (B) Carson Atherley.
Shots on goal — Bangor 12, Mt.
Ararat 4.
Saves — (MtA) Gavin Patterson 7,
Elliot Bowie 3; (B) George Payne 3.
Corner kicks — Mt. Ararat 5, Bangor
3.
Records — Bangor 14-1-1, Mt.
Ararat 13-3
Note — Mt. Ararat’s season is complete.