HOULTON – As if the Schenck boys soccer team needed any more motivation to win, what with playoffs just around the corner, a scary moment at the end of the first half of Friday night’s matchup against Houlton provided it.

Moments after watching an ambulance carry off a teammate involved in a collision, Adam Waite scored the second of his three goals to lift the Wolverines to a 3-1 victory over the Eastern Maine Class C rival Shiretowners at the high school field.

Schenck starting center midfielder Will Hamlin, who collided with a Houlton player at midfield with 1:20 left in the first half, was carried off the field. Schenck coach Frank Clukey checked him on the sidelines, and Houlton officials called for an ambulance.

The game resumed after Hamlin was loaded into the ambulance.

After the game the Wolverines had a late dinner at the Pizza Hut in Houlton, where they learned Hamlin broke two bones in his leg and was taken to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor for surgery, Clukey said.

The incident was very much on the minds of the Schenck players as they retook the field for the second half. The Wolverines came out strong early and Waite headed in a Pat Jamo direct kick two minutes and 17 seconds into the period.

“We just wanted to win one for a fallen teammate,” Waite said. “… He played hard in the first half, and we wanted to win it for him. He’s our best center halfback, and it was tough but we kept it up the whole game.”

Waite’s injury could be a blow to a 7-4-2 team already without striker Tyler Thompson, who broke his foot three weeks ago. The Wolverines have rebounded nicely with key wins over Penobscot Valley of Howland and Lee Academy.

Schenck possessed the ball for most of the first half as the Shiretowners had trouble clearing it, but Houlton scored first. Justin Stewart shot the ball at Schenck goalie Chad Nelson, but Nelson couldn’t hang on and Theron Larkins booted in the rebound with 13:56 left in the first half.

“Our defense is great, and when teams score against us it’s usually just one slipup,” Waite said. “They didn’t have many shots on goal in the whole game.”

Schenck outshot Houlton 18-7.

Waite tied it up almost four minutes later when he kicked in a ball over Shiretowners goalie Eben Thompson. Waite’s third goal, which came on a one-on-one with Thompson after he beat the Houlton defense with two minutes left in the game, gave Schenck some insurance.

“We know they’re going to play kick-and-run, and we’re prepared to defend that,” Houlton coach Todd Willard said. “But by doing that you sacrifice some players in the back, and you lose some offense, too.”

The Shiretowners (1-10-1) had some good chances on direct kicks and corner kicks late in the game, but hit shots wide of the goal and over the crossbar.

“They put the ball on the net better,” Willard said. “They take advantage of what they create and we’re young and we don’t always take advantage of obvious situations. We try to possess the ball against them, and we had our chances but we just didn’t finish.”

Thompson had a strong outing with 10 saves, while Nelson finished with three saves.