Eagles Punch Goal Past Panthers In Homecoming Thriller

Lincoln Academy boys’ soccer team defeated Medomak Valley 1-0 in the Eagles’ Homecoming match-up Saturday night in Newcastle. The two teams battled through 90 scoreless minutes in Medomak’s Homecoming a week earlier, setting up a classic KVAC rematch between the two rivals.

In all, the Panthers held the Eagles scoreless for 155 minutes in the two games. The Eagles snapped the drought with 14:53 remaining in the game on a nice passing series. Brandon Bonney passed to the right wing, where Kaleab Buchwalder collected the ball and immediately passed back to the middle where a breaking Kyle O’Brien was there to boot it home on a rocket to the upper left corner.

Kazu Tibbetts was the workhorse in the Panther backfield. He along with Brent Barrows, Ryan Ripley and goalkeeper Robbie Griffin were the major players on Medomak’s shout out squad.

Lincoln Academy got off 17 1st half shots, with Griffin corralling 12 saves. The Eagles were limited to 11 shots in the 2nd half, including the game winner.

The Panthers moved Jonathan Hendrickson-Belloguet up to the front line to provide more firepower up front. H-Belloguet broke free several times, but was cut down by the Eagles’ back three defenders, Michael McCormick, Nic Phinney and Ryan Peters. Midfielder Bo McLain played stellar defense all game for the Eagles, stopping the Panthers from organizing an effective attack.

Lincoln held a 28-4 advantage in shots. Griffin made 17 saves for the Panthers, and Merritt Wotton one for the Eagles. Wotton’s save came with 6:01 to play in the 1st half on an H-Belloguet breakaway.

MCI 4 – Lincoln 2Lincoln Academy dominated 1st half action, out shooting the Huskies 22-6, but went into the half trailing 2-1. Lincoln tied the game in the 2nd half, but then went away from their passing game, and MCI took full advantage, scoring two picture perfect goals to win 4-2 under the lights in Newcastle.

Tom Masters gave the Eagles a 1-0 lead 17 minutes into the game on a pass from Adam Zhong. Aaron Park tied the game for MCI on a breakaway goal with 14:15 to go in the period. BJ Philbrick gave the Huskies the lead with three minutes left in the half, when he walked in a direct kick from Kristoffer Martinsen at the left post.

Kyle O’Brien tied the game with 38:44 to play on a back pass from Brandon Bonney. The Eagles missed on several prime opportunities. MCI retook the lead with 22:02 to play when Park sprinted onto a long chip and booted in a rocket. MCI struck again with 10:37 to play when Krit Rujiralai collected a short goal kick and put it low to the corner.

Lincoln held a 32-13 edge in shots. Merritt Wotton made nine saves for the Eagles, and Matt Lessard 18 for the Huskies. Winslow 4 – Medomak 2Medomak boys’ soccer lost to Winslow 4-2 on the road on Tuesday. The Raiders jumped out to a 4-0 lead, before the Panthers rallied for two late goals. Gabe Smith and Chad Colford scored 1st half goals for the Raiders, and Finn Ducker and McKenzie Michaud scored on penalty kicks in the 2nd half, called for a hand ball and tripping.

Chris Morrill put the Panthers on the board with 20:03 to play on a direct kick from 18 yards out. Conor Dahlberg scored unassisted with two minutes remaining.

Winslow held a 14-4 advantage in shots. Robbie Griffin made 10 saves in net for the Panthers.