EASTON, Maine — The Easton boys varsity soccer team is moving on in the Class D North playoffs following a 4-0 preliminary round victory against Fort Fairfield Friday.
No. 6 Easton (11-4 overall) now travels to No. 3 Van Buren (7-6-2) after the Crusaders defeated No. 14 Central Aroostook in a prelim contest. The Bears game at Van Buren will be played at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
In Friday night’s game, the crisp autumn air paired with the overhead lights beaming on the field, combined with the cheers of the crowd on both sides, made for an eventful evening of play for both the Easton Bears and Fort Fairfield Tigers.
“Tonight we shed our harvest legs a little bit, we were first to the ball and our defense stayed pushed up and on the attack, and I moved the ball a lot better than we have the last couple of weeks, and that’s certainly our key,” said Easton coach Ryan Shaw. “We are tough to beat when that happens, but I liked the pace of the game, we were on the attack for the majority of it, and that’s what we have to keep doing at this point in the season.”
Both teams began the game on pretty even ground, frequently swapping between attack and defense, with neither side giving an inch. Finally, Easton broke the scoreless tie, when Owen Sweeney scored on a free kick with 27:53 remaining in the first half.
Easton used the first goal to gain momentum, with Sweeny scoring again on a penalty kick at 23:05. But Sweeny was not done and 10 minutes later, with Cody Nadeau assisting, Sweeney put the Bears up 3-0 with 13:33 remaining.
The second half showed the Tigers try to regain some lost footing, but Easton kept up their gridlock defenses, and retaliated with a final penalty kick from Sweeney at 21:40
Both teams’ keepers performed admirably, with Easton’s Zach Pelletier having 3 saves, and Fort Fairfield’s Micah Daigle, making 9.
“I was really impressed with Easton’s play tonight, they were a great team and they moved the ball well, and attacked offensively extremely well,” said Fort Fairfield coach Cody Tompkins. “I am really proud of our keeper tonight, I think he played phenomenal and made some really great saves. Our offense had some opportunities late, but unfortunately not enough. Easton’s coach was my highschool coach, and I have a lot of good playoff memories with him. It’s hard to lose to them, but they are also the team that you root for in that scenario, so I wish them the best of luck.”
EASTON, Maine–October 22, 2021–Fort Fairfield’s Silias Libby (right) keeps possession of the ball against Easton at a game on Friday. Easton won 4-0 (David DiMinno | The Star-Herald)
