Beavers ousted in Class D prelim
By Joseph Cyr
WASHBURN — It is awfully hard to play a soccer game when one of the two teams doesn’t have their uniforms.
That is the scenario that almost played out Saturday afternoon in Washburn when No. 9 Shead of Eastport journeyed 3.5 hours north to take on the No. 8 Beavers in a preliminary boys soccer playoff. The Tigers arrived in plenty of time for Saturday’s playoff, but their uniforms did not, causing the game to be delayed for 20 minutes while the team waited for their clothes to arrive.
Staff photos/Joseph Cyr
LONG TOSS —Beaver goalie Zach Davis throws the ball back into play during Saturday’s preliminary playoff. Washburn lost, 1-0.
SLIDE TACKLE —Washburn’s Mitch Worcester, right, has the ball kicked away from him by Shead’s Joseph Barnes during Saturday’s preliminary playoff. The No. 8 Beavers were beaten by the visiting Tigers, 1-0.
Once play began, No. 9 Shead (5-9-1 overall) pulled out a 1-0 upset victory over No. 8 Washburn (9-5-1) in an Eastern Class D preliminary playoff. Shead advances to play No. 1 Calvary Chapel (14-0) in the quarterfinals Wednesday.
Washburn out shot Shead 15-6, but was unable to find the back of the net. Zach Davis had four saves for Washburn, while Ethan Stevens had 13 saves for Shead.
Zach Davis had four saves on six
Shead found itself in hostile territory as a raucous crowd of Washburn fans, many of whom donned face paint in the Beavers’ signature blue and gold colors, assembled for Saturday’s game. The Beavers controlled the play for much of the first half, which is precisely what Washburn coach Ben Goodwin was hoping for coming into the game.
“We need to start strong early and really set the tempo of the game,” he said prior to the game. “We are a fairly skilled team that is able to move the ball well when we are playing our game. It’s when we lose that sight is when we get into trouble.”
Washburn wasted little time in setting up its plays on throw-ins, direct kicks and corner kicks, in the hopes of catching Shead’s defense off guard.
With neither team able to break the scoring ice in the first half, play heated up in the second half and the Tigers were rewarded for their efforts. Shead’s Thomas Stanhope dashed the hopes of the Washburn faithful when he converted a corner kick from Brennin Consalvi with 21:59 to play in the second half for the game’s only goal.
“Today started out pretty crazy for us,” Shead coach David Consalvi said. “We got here and didn’t have our uniforms. But it’s ending pretty nice and that’s what counts.”
The coach said his team’s corner kick, which was set up by his son Brennin, is something the team has practiced extensively over the past week.
“We were worked hard on our corner kicks and Brennin delivered a perfect ball to Thomas, who headed it in,” he said.
Coach Goodwin said he thought his team played well in the loss and was surprised by the low-scoring contest.
“I thought there would have been a few more balls in the net today,” Goodwin said. “The way they [Shead] started off, I knew it was going to be tough for us. They packed in six or seven guys in the box. We did the things we needed to do. We passed the ball well and I feel we outplayed them, but sometimes it just comes down to that one goal.”
