Van Buren earns ‘D’ soccer crown Martin scores 2 second-half goals

HAMPDEN – Trailing Waynflete 1-0 and being outshot 11-1 in the first half of Saturday’s Class D boys soccer state championship game, Van Buren coach Steve LaPierre had a simple message for his team at the halftime break.

“We have been behind before this year,” LaPierre said. “I just basically told the kids we had to just keep plugging away.”

The Crusaders (17-2) did and, thanks to two Andy Martin goals a little more than two minutes apart, topped the Flyers 2-1 at the Weatherbee Complex field to capture the school’s first state title since 1996.

“We’ve lost to them twice in the last four years,” LaPierre said. “It’s kind of nice to get this one.”

Martin’s first goal of the day came with 14:12 left. Riley Lizotte won the ball and passed the ball to an open space on the far side of the field, allowing Martin to run onto the ball. He beat some Waynflete defenders and pushed the ball past Flyers goalie Reid McMullen, who came out to try and cut down the angle.

“When we scored the first goal, it made them think about [the game],” Martin said. “It made them fall back on their heels.”

Martin then provided fans the closest thing to an instant replay when he scored just 2:02 later to give Van Buren a 2-1 lead.

This time, it was Dom Rossignol who passed the ball forward to Martin, who again used a low shot to beat McMullen and score his 29th goal of the season.

“I don’t know if they didn’t see me or what,” Martin said.

Having secured the lead, the Van Buren defense made sure it held up.

“The defense has been tough all year,” LaPierre said.

The Flyers continued to push the ball forward, though, only to be repelled by Van Buren, content to kick the ball out of trouble. Crusader fans were finally able to celebrate when Waynflete’s final corner kick with about 20 seconds left was turned aside.

“I can’t believe it happened,” Martin said.

Van Buren goalie Andrew Taylor, pressed into service late in the season after starting goalie Dustin Cyr was injured, made five saves, including key stops in the first half to keep his team in the game.

Another key to Van Buren’s victory was its ability to keep the Flyers from making too many runs into the penalty area in the second half, letting Waynflete fire shots from 20 yards away.

“Except for the first goal, they didn’t have a good shot inside the 18-[yard line, the top edge of the penalty area],” LaPierre said.

Waynflete coach Brandon Salway said the Flyers tried to use the dimensions of the Weatherbee field to penetrate the Van Buren defense.

“We tried to use the width of the field to our advantage,” he said.

The Flyers, who finish at 11-3-1, broke through late in the first half after dominating play.

Taylor managed to get a hand on Kabiye Hassan’s cross into the penalty area, but the ball eluded his grasp and Thomas White, stationed on the far post, knocked the ball in with 2:20 remaining in the first half.

“It did seem like we had the better chances early,” Salway said. “I thought the goal would hold up.”

Instead, the Flyers wound up on the short end for a second straight year, despite an 18-6 edge in shots.