BATH

Monday night’s tone was set very early — it was going to be a long night for the Morse High School boys soccer team.

Visiting Maranacook scored an offside goal just 20 seconds into the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference match, and though the goal didn’t count, there were plenty more chances coming.

The Shipbuilders were on their heels from the get-go, giving up tons of possession and ultimately giving up three goals in the 3-0 setback.

“They moved the ball great,” Morse coach Chuck Reece said of Maranacook. “Those guys have been playing together for a while. They link their passes, they know where to be, how fast to pass the ball. They’re a great team.”

Maranacook (8-0-1) earned its first free-kick five minutes after the opening called-off goal and solidified its possession game in the Morse (5-4) half. Connor Stockwell went off the post in the 16th minute and Hayden Elwell came close on a corner kick before opening the scoring in the 32nd minute.

After sneaking into space in front of Alex Fernald’s net, Elwell rose up and connected on a Sam Wilkinson cross to make the score 1-0.

The score was one of 11 total shots for the Black Bears in the first half, with six coming on frame.

“We weren’t ready because we’ve been playing teams that aren’t up to their caliber yet,” captain Tucker Banger said. “I don’t think we were good in the air tonight, or I don’t think we were making the passes that we should have.”

Morse held the visitors for the remainder of the half despite multiple tests for Fernald, who finished with nine saves.

Sheamus Mann gave the Shipbuilders their only chance of the frame in the 36th minute when he got around a defender on the far side and fired a shot off the bar and out for a goal kick. It was the only shot of the match for Morse.

“Recently we’ve been really good with possession but tonight it was a little bit off,” Banger said. “I didn’t touch the ball much tonight. That’s partly my fault — I didn’t go to as many balls as I should have. But, this is a hard team to possess against. They’re really quick and they’re really good with their feet and they telegraph our passes sometimes. It’s really hard to get around that.”

Meanwhile, with all of the ball, Maranacook found the back of the net twice more early in the second half and put the match away.

First it was Elwell firing a first-time shot from the top of the box past Fernald in the 45th minute, then winger Connor McSweeney making a long run up the right and shooting low into the side netting to make the score 3- 0.

The Black Bears tallied 25 shots on the night and kept the Morse players frustrated in pursuit.

“You’ve got to keep their enthusiasm up,” Reece said. “Keep them fighting, because you never know if something’s going to push through and you get the opportunity. I’ve played in plenty of soccer games, I’ve coached in plenty of soccer games, where we’ve dominated the entire game and lost. You never know.”

Flu bug

Monday night’s match was originally slated for last Friday, but with the flu bug going around on both sides, they agreed to push it back. Reece said that if the match had been played last week, seven of his starters might have been out.

Being under the weather may have affected Monday’s outcome, but Banger said the team had a busy week in mind.

“We played as best we could tonight, but we have Belfast tomorrow, so that’s what we’re saving for,” he said.

Morse, currently sitting in one of the last two playoff spots in Class B South, will host Belfast tonight at 6 p.m. before traveling to Gardiner on Thursday at 6:30 p.m.

The Shipbuilders hardly have any time to recover from the flu, nor to do anything but learn from the loss to Maranacook.

“If we get into playoffs, we might see these guys again,” Banger said. “It’s a good learning experience if we do get in and we’re playing them. So, it’s something we have to think about and practice for when we get the chance.”

“We played a great team and just keep moving forward. Put it in the past,” Reece said. “We’ve got two more games this week and we have an opportunity to put ourselves in the right direction the next two games.”

Maranacook 3,
Morse 0

At McMann Field in Bath
Maranacook — 1 2 — 3
Morse — 0 0 — 0
Goals — (Mar) Hayden Elwell 2, Connor McSweeney 1.
Assists — (Mar) Sam Wilkinson,
Carter McPhedran, Jackson McPhedran. Shots — Maranacook 25, Morse 1.
Corner kicks — Maranacook 10,
Morse 1.
Saves — (Mo) Alex Fernald 9; (Mar)
Justin Freeman 0.
Records — Maranacook 8-0-1,
Morse 5-4.
Up next for the Shipbuilders — At
home against Belfast today, 6 p.m.