Medomak Valley goal keeper Noah Beck stops Old Town’s first penalty kick with a foot save in the Panthers East B preliminary win on Saturday. (Paula Roberts photo) |
The underdogs in East Class B, Medomak Valley boys soccer team have clawed their way to the East Class B semifinals. The 12th seed Panthers upset fifth-ranked Old Town 2-1 in a preliminary game on Saturday that went through two 15- minute overtime periods and ended on penalty kicks; then defeated fourth seed Erskine Academy on the road on Tuesday 3-1 to advance to the semifinals against top seed Ellsworth.
Medomak 3 – Erskine 1
Medomak Valley (6-7-1) is quickly becoming known as the Cinderella team of East Class B. After upsetting fifth seed Old Town on Saturday, the Panthers ousted fourth seed Erskine Academy (11-1-2) 3-1 on Tuesday.
Erskine out-scored their opponents 57-10 during the KVAC season, including beating Medomak twice by a score of 5-1. Erskine only had one game where they gave up more than one goal, and that was a 6-2 win over Belfast.
Medomak had limited opportunities to score in their quarterfinal win, getting off just six shots. Unlike Saturday’s game where Medomak struggled to find net on dozens of shots, the Panthers were right on target Tuesday, and capitalized on their chances.
Strong Medomak defense limited Erskine to just 10 shots. “Noah Beck had another strong night in net. He played very strong and confident,” coach Brian Campbell said. Beck made 10 saves for Medomak, and Josh Reed three for the Eagles.
The Panthers pounced early, taking a 1-0 lead less than five minutes into the game, before the Eagles had a chance to take flight. Patrick Madden converted a Micah Williamson pass from 18 yards out to give Medomak an early lead.
Erskine knotted the score midway through the half on a goal from Luke Peabody.
Zidane McMurrin had the last say of the half, putting the Panthers up 2-1 at the half with 10:42 to play when he converted a direct kick from 20 yards out. “He beat the wall and snuck it in at the far post,” Campbell said.
Cale Gee added an insurance goal, when he ran a rebounded Jackson Vail shot in with his chest with 22:56 to go in the second half.
The last time Medomak boys soccer reached a semifinal game was in 2008. “We are going to keep on riding it,” Campbell said on their wins.
Medomak 2 – Old Town 1
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Sam Morrill is stopped by Old Town keeper Austin Sheenan. (Paula Roberts photo) |
The 12th seed Medomak Valley boys soccer team upset fifth seed Old Town 2-1 on Saturday, Oct. 25 in an East Class B preliminary match-up in Old Town. The game was decided on penalty kicks, after two 15-minute overtime periods were fruitless.
“After our most successful season in recent years, we were so happy to have secured a playoff spot. The boys have worked so hard throughout the summer and the season and we achieved our goal of making the postseason. It was a difficult week to prepare for our first playoff game in over five years as the weather forced us inside for the entire week. We spent the week researching Old Town’s season and developing a game plan. Our practices were very focused on the task at hand and each player had a strong understanding of what their role was as we approached the game,” coach Brian Campbell said.
After a scoreless first half, Old Town took the lead a minute into the second frame when Tyler Gifford converted a pass from Drew Coulombe.
Panther defender Jared Mank knotted the score with 34:09 to go when he collected a Micah Williamson shot that was headed out by Coyote defender Adam Richardson. Mank picked up the rebound at the top of the 18, and one timed it to the upper right corner of the net.
In the final 10 minutes of regulation, both teams heated up their offenses.
The Panthers saw game-saving defensive stops from Nick DePatsy, Cameron Leach, Jon Allard, Jackson Vail, and Ollie Brown to keep the Coyotes at bay.
Medomak held a 5-3 shot advantage in the first 15-minute overtime. Ethan Swan’s offer was the only Panther shot on target, as the other four missed high or wide. Beck made a huge save with 5:48 to play to send the game into a second overtime.
Medomak opened the second OT with a flurry of shots from Sam Morrill and Williamson on a wild scramble in front of the Coyote net, but Old Town’s defense prevailed.
Beck stopped an Old Town breakaway with a diving block, then knocked a second shot away on a bang-bang play with 8:44 to go. On the other end of the field, Austin Sheenan stopped a shot from Zidane McMurrin with 35 seconds left.
Noah Beck had a spectacular day in net, with diving saves on breakaways and leaping high in the air to stop Old Town’s deadly weapon, C.J. Moody on flip throw-ins. A much taller Old Town team controlled the air game for the entire 110 minutes of play, but Beck held up firm in net for the Panthers.
“Noah Beck delivered with his best performance of the season defending the net. He made several highlight reel saves that only built our confidence and kept the momentum in our favor,” Campbell said. Beck made 25 saves for the Panthers and Sheenan nine for the Coyotes. Medomak took 26 shots and Old Town 27 in the evenly matched game.
After two scoreless overtimes, the game was sent to penalty kicks. Old Town’s Tyler Gifford fired first. Beck dove to his right and stopped the shot with his foot. McMurrin found net for the Panthers to put Medomak up 1-0 on PK’s.
Moody fired Old Town’s second shot off the right post. Micah Williamson’s offer was blocked by Sheenan and went off the cross bar. Adam Richardson fired the Coyotes third attempt off the left post. Sam Morrill then made good to put the Panthers up 2-0.
Drew Coulombe scored for the Coyotes to put the pressure on Medomak’s Patrick Madden. Madden found net on the Panther’s fourth PK to put Medomak up 3-1 on PK’s and lift the Panthers to a 2-1 win.
“When Old Town’s third attempt struck the right post again we knew at that time that we were on the verge of an upset. Patrick Madden strolled to the PK line with a sense of ease and confidence … set the ball down and beat the keeper to his left. He turned quickly and prepared himself as he had 19 teammates running on a dead sprint to tackle him and celebrate our first playoff victory,” Campbell said.
“We were able to begin the game with a high level of energy and maintained that energy throughout the contest. We moved the ball well on the ground and played excellent on defense. The guys remained confident as we went into halftime with a 0-0 score. Old Town scored early in the second half but we kept our composure and answered several minutes later. Jared Mank hit an absolute rocket to the upper right hand corner of the net,” Campbell said.
