Smith, Lambert combine to lead MCI past MDI

PITTSFIELD – Teams will stop at nothing to try to shut down Maine Central Institute striker Khano Smith – slide tackles, pushes, tugs on his jersey – all the things a top-notch goal-scorer has to deal with.

Smith saw it all during No. 3 MCI Eastern Maine Class B semifinal matchup against No. 7 Mount Desert Island at Manson Park Wednesday. Most of the time, the tactics were enough to stop Smith from racing through the defense with his quick, smooth dribbling style.

But with 28 minutes left in the game, Smith was tripped up in the box and awarded a penalty kick. He converted with a hard-hit shot to the right of diving MDI goalie Mike Garrity in a 2-1 victory over MDI.

The defending EM champ Huskies, now 14-1-1, will play Camden-Rockport in the regional Class B final at Camden Saturday. The Trojans finish their season at 10-5-1.

The combo of Smith and fellow striker Josh Lambert has been tremendous this season, and the seniors showed it against MDI. After Wednesday, Lambert has racked up 23 goals and 12 assists. Smith’s totals stand at 22 goals and 14 assists.

“[Smith] is so good,” Trojans coach John Rosenfeld said. “He sets everything up for them.”

Smith figured into the Huskies’ second goal when he sent a quick pass from left of the goal over to Lambert, who had an easy shot for the 2-0 lead with 21:09 left in the game.

“We’re just sticking with the same thing, the same strategy that worked in the regular season,” Lambert said. “We’re using short, quick passes. That’s what happened on my goal. Khano sent the ball and it slithered over, and I just kissed it in.”

The Trojans were without forward-midfielder Chris Slack for most of the second half when he was tagged with a yellow card in the first. The senior had been effective running through the Huskies defense.

Slack came back with 15 minutes left to play and had an immediate impact. About five minutes after he reentered, Slack took the ball upfield through the middle and sent it to Jared Archilles, who scored to cut MCI’s lead to 2-1.

The Trojans nearly scored on a direct kick at the end of the game, but sweeper Scott Giallombardo and goalie Shaun Souza led a solid MCI defensive effort. Souza made four saves on nine shots.

Mount Desert Island goalkeeper Mike Garrity had another fine outing, stopping six of the 13 shots he faced, including several shots that could have put the game out of reach for the Trojans.