No. 1 Crusaders roll past Foxcroft Zach Means has two goals, assist

BANGOR – Come fly the friendly skies of John Bapst boys soccer where the Crusaders feel they own every ball in the air and demonstrated that Tuesday during a 5-2 win over Foxcroft Academy in a Class B Northeastern Division semifinal game.

Zach Means provided much of the Crusaders’ offense with two goals and an assist. He said the John Bapst aerial assault is by design.

“We have some kids with some great ups. We have Zev Myerowitz and Bryan Snyder who are always going to get their heads on the ball,” Means said.

The game’s biggest goal came as a result of just that. It occurred with 11 seconds remaining in the first half and with John Bapst holding a 2-0 lead.

Snyder sent a corner kick into the penalty box that Taylor Lynn controlled and then struck into the upper left corner.

“That was a killer. A back breaker,” Foxcroft Academy coach Luis Ayala said.”

Snyder set up the top-seeded Crusaders’ first goal when he was fouled as he headed a Means’ cross just at the edge of the penalty area.

Means blasted a shot past the left edge of the Ponies’ defensive wall into the net 15 minutes into the match.

Then the Crusaders used a tool that few teams have to offer when Snyder used a long flip throw to send the ball into the penalty area that Myerowitz headed off a defender. Myerowitz collected the rebound and drilled a shot past Foxcroft Academy goalie Matt Hackett.

Fourth-seeded Foxcroft Academy had confidence coming into the game having handed the Crusaders one of their two losses and the Ponies’ 11-5 final record included nine consecutive wins.

Senior captain Josh Chase opened their scoring less than a minute into the second half. Chase pushed the ball past two defenders down the left wing and beat John Bapst goalie Bill Chapman to the ball, cracking a shot into the upper right corner.

Chase was a concern for the Crusaders throughout the game, making numerous crosses into the penalty area in search of the Ponies’ top scorer Manuel Blanc.

“I had Taylor Lynn marking [Blanc] the whole game. We had to shut him down,” Crusaders’ coach Evan Frace said.

And while John Bapst managed to keep Blanc out of the scorebook, a Chase cross with 11:15 remaining in the game found Corey Beaulieu who headed it in to close the lead to 3-2.

But Al Mean and Zach Means scored goals in the last nine minutes of the match to secure the win for John Bapst.

Chapman made 10 saves on 25 Foxcroft Academy shots, while Hackett stopped eight of 26 John Bapst shots.