Old Town knocks off Bangor 2-1 Petrie sparks Indians

OLD TOWN – The Old Town boys soccer team is on a real high right now, and why not? Five days after rolling over Class A Hampden, the Indians knocked off another Class A opponent Saturday at the middle school field here. And it’s a win that is certain to provide an even bigger boost.

Matt Petrie scored two goals, one on a penalty kick that tied the game and another in the second half to win it, as Class B Old Town edged Bangor 2-1.

The Rams beat the Indians 4-1 at Bangor last month.

“We wanted this one bad,” Petrie said. “We knew that we really had to outplay them and out-hustle them.”

Old Town, already second in the latest Heal Point rankings without the Class A wins, improves to 8-3. Bangor, which hadn’t lost a game since Sept. 19, falls to 8-2-1.

Neither Petrie not goalie Tyler Tracewski, who are both juniors, can remember beating Bangor in their three-year careers.

Petrie scored his game-winning goal with 14:42 left in the game. He was just left of the goal when he booted the ball in the air toward the far post. The ball curved toward the net and above the hands of Bangor goalie Payson Nichols.

“I was trying to cross it, really, but it worked out,” said Petrie, who was assisted by John Garrity.

The Rams had a number of good chances after Petrie’s go-ahead goal. Bangor outshot Old Town 14-6 in the second half and racked up nine corner kicks to none for the Indians.

Bangor’s Ryan Jeffrey and twin brothers Nick and Mike Larochelle all had good chances on crosses, corner kicks or straight shots, but weren’t able to finish their attempts.

“That’s the second time in two games we’ve seen a team really pack it in defensively and it’s really frustrating to have to go through six or seven guys on defense,” Bangor coach Adam Leach said. “… I was a little disappointed with the intensity and the guys thought we had the game won before we started. But by and large the mistakes we made today were fixable.”

Tracewski stood out in the second half and especially in the period after Petrie’s go-ahead goal. He finished with 16 saves on 23 shots, including nine saves on 14 shots in the second half.

“We always know a team is going to come at us after we score but it’s usually only for five minutes and then [the game] settles down,” Tracewski said.

Jeremy Kenney gave the Rams a 1-0 lead when he kicked in a loose ball 2:45 into the game.

Petrie scored on his PK with 21:49 left in the first half, tying the game at 1-1.

“We had to play to the level of Bangor,” Old Town coach Mark Graffam said. “They’re very well-skilled and composed… We needed to work hard. We knew this game meant a lot and we need this to carry into next week.”

Nichols finished with nine saves on 14 shots.

JV: Bangor 7-1