Bears prevail on late penalty kick
HODGDON, Maine — Collin Sotomayor converted a penalty kick with 2:35 remaining in regulation to give the visiting Easton Bears a 2-1 win over Hodgdon in a preliminary playoff match held Thursday.
The victory by the Bears, the 10th-ranked team in Class D North, extended their season and matched them up against No. 2 Bangor Christian in Tuesday’s quarterfinal tilt played at Husson University in Bangor.
Against the No. 7 Hawks, Easton held a 19-9 advantage in shots on goal. Sotomayor scored off an Isaac Currier assist with 22 minutes to play in the first half to put Easton in front before Dylan Oliver netted the equalizer on a penalty kick 25 seconds into the second half.
The Bears then took advantage of a handball in the penalty area and Sotomayor came through to break the deadlock.
“We went down knowing what we had to do and we expected to be successful,” said Easton coach Ryan Shaw. “We controlled the pace of the play and moved the ball well … it was one of our better games of the year.”
Shaw said Flewelling was sharp in net and the senior netminder finished with seven saves. He said Currier, Hunter Brown and Keegan Kinney were solid in the middle of the field and Elias Coy and Sotomayor were able to generate multiple chances up front.
“We wanted to increase the number of shot attempts as we have had a habit of overpassing or holding onto the ball too long in our offensive third of the field,” Shaw said.
The Bears took a 10-4-1 record into their game against Bangor Christian, which went undefeated at 14-0.
