Rams start fast, shut out Indians Chaiken gets goal, assist

BANGOR – For much of the early season, coach Adam Leach’s Bangor Rams have been plagued by two big problems. Slow starts and inconsistent play.

On Monday, the Rams addressed both woes and parlayed their successes into a 3-0 win over Class B Old Town.

First, the start: Senior forward Alex Chaiken emerged from a scramble in the penalty area and smacked in a tone-setting goal just 46 seconds into the game.

Chaiken admitted that the goal didn’t work out exactly as planned.

“To be honest, I was trying to pick a corner and kind of got under it,” Chaiken said of his 8-yarder. “At least it went in.”

Now, the consistency: The Rams controlled the territorial battle all night long.

“What I told the guys tonight was we needed 80 minutes of focused soccer,” Leach said. “I think we got 70 minutes of it, anyway.”

Bangor improved to 3-2 while Old Town dropped to 1-4-1.

The Rams followed up Chaiken’s goal later in the half when senior Matt Oliver converted a Chaiken feed with 10:45 to play.

The wide-open Oliver took a pass in the middle of the penalty area, waited for Old Town goalkeeper Tyler Tracewski to step off his line, then pounded a low shot through the ‘keeper’s legs.

“I played hockey when I was a kid,” Oliver said with a chuckle. “Five hole.”

The goal gave the Rams a needed cushion after Old Town had threatened to tie the game in the 15th minute.

Matt Petrie’s long-range shot caught Bangor ‘keeper Payson Nichols off-guard, and Nichols barely deflected it off the post. Junior striker Kevin Emerson pounced on the bouncing ball but his shot sailed just wide of the open net.

“I was playing a little far out and had to start backpedaling,” Nichols said. “When you backpedal, you can’t jump, so I just got my fingertips on it and it hit the bar. I got lucky a little bit.”

Old Town coach Mark Graffam said the play was a big missed opportunity for his team.

“Definitely the momentum in high school sports is always key,” Graffam said. “And we have so many young kids, that would have been a key thing.”

Oliver scored again with 35:47 left in the game when he emerged from a crowd and knocked a 5-yard shot past Tracewski.

Nichols was solid in goal for the Rams, as he thwarted Old Town offensive threats by charging off his line and foiled each Indian attempt to free up Emerson.

“They were chipping the ball in all over the place, just booting it, and I just had to come out and kick it away a lot,” Nichols said.

Leach said his junior plays his best when he’s aggressive.

“When Payson’s confident in himself, he can control that penalty area,” Leach said. “He’s quick, he’s strong, and he’ll block a shot with his face if he has to.”

Nichols finished with five saves on eight shots while Tracewski made five stops on 21 shots.