BREWER – Soccer is a game of flow. And in the world of John Bapst boys soccer, everything flows through striker Zach Means.

Whether it’s passes from midfield by Colby Therriault or long sideline flip throws from Bryan Snyder, Means is the Crusaders’ designated target. He responded Saturday with two goals as John Bapst of Bangor downed Belfast 4-1 in an Eastern Maine Class B regional crossover semifinal at Pendleton Street field.

The top-seeded Crusaders, 15-2, will play second-seeded Caribou for the Eastern Maine championships Saturday at BMHI field in Bangor.

“Zach is a smooth player. He has 18 goals this year. When it’s one-on-one with him and the goalie it’s pretty much automatic,” John Bapst coach Evan Frace said.

Means’ second goal of the contest, the Crusaders’ fourth, was instinctive and showed the mentality of a pure goal scorer.

Midfielder Zev Myerowitz started the play by heading the ball from near the midfield stripe to Means, who was at the right corner of the penalty box. Means dragged the ball back with his right foot and then slid it forward past the defender in one motion – the proverbial ball on a string. Then Means was in on the goalie all alone and was, as his coach said, “automatic.”

“It was a great pass,” Means said, downplaying his role in the goal. “Our team has some great through balls. Colby Therriault especially. They get the ball to us where we can do something with it.”

Means opened the scoring with 24:34 remaining in the first half. It was the result of a John Bapst buildup that involved several passes. The final one was a low, hard pass from midfielder Brian Snyder to Means, who spun and blasted a shot that Belfast goalie Chris Abbott did well to get a hand on but couldn’t keep out of the goal.

The Crusaders’ Taylor Lynn scored five minutes later when he headed in Al Means’ corner kick.

Less than two minutes later John Bapst was up 3-0 when Conrad Brown scored off a through ball down the left side from Wes Day. Brown took the pass and fired off a shot that hit the net inside the right post.

“We kept the ball well,” Frace said. “The guys in the middle were winning the ball and distributing it well.”

Belfast’s goal came with 1:47 remaining in the game when Aaron Cross sent Steve Matluck in alone on John Bapst goalie Bill Chapman and banged a shot inside the left post.

Matluck gave John Bapst fits throughout the game with a combination of speed and skill down the left wing. Matluck was one of just two healthy seniors on a 6-9-1 Lions squad dominated by nine sophomores.

“It was awesome,” Belfast coach Dale Cross said of his team’s playoff run that included wins over Ellsworth and Rockland. “Being part of this team is fantastic. I’m looking forward to the future.”

Abbott made nine saves on 31 shots for Belfast while his counterpart, Chapman, stopped three of seven shots for John Bapst.