Bustos, Phinney lead BC by ‘Cats

FARMINGDALE – It’s not supposed to be this easy. Even Bangor Christian boys soccer coach Aaron Wilcox had difficulty believing the final outcome of Saturday morning’s Class D state championship soccer game.

Wilcox was still staring at the Hall-Dale High School field scoreboard as his team posed for photos, almost as if he was afraid his Patriots’ 5-0 victory over Richmond would change if he looked away.

“Years ago, we played them in the regular season and they used to put a real beating on us,” said Wilcox, who has coached eight seasons at Bangor Christian. “Now we have our first soccer state championship.”

The Patriots made it look easy as they capped a storybook 18-0 season on a bright and surprisingly balmy Saturday. It was almost as if they were operating at “fast forward” while their opponents were in regular “play” mode.

“They’re too quick and they move the ball very well. We couldn’t generate any offense, and they were constantly putting pressure on,” said Richmond coach Rick Coughlin, whose Bobcats wound up his 25th and final coaching season with a 13-4 record. “That’s one of the best teams we’ve faced all year.

“They’ve come a long way since we used to play them and developed a great program.”

The Patriots used a 3-3-4 formation, outshot the Bobcats 24-11, and kept the action confined almost exclusively to Richmond’s side of the field with coordinated bursts, pinpoint passing, and aggressive shooting.

Senior captain Ignacio Bustos scored the first and fourth goals for the Patriots, but senior Justin Phinney was even more active as he helped set up all five scores and was credited with assists for three.

“We didn’t even try to mark anyone. We thought about the Bustos kid, but he didn’t hurt us in terms of having to mark him,” said Coughlin. “They were just moving the ball so well, we couldn’t defend them effectively.”

After Bustos scored early, sophomore Zachary Kutz scored off an assist that was initially credited to Phinney but actually came from senior Brock Bradford, who transferred from Calvary Chapel Christian in Orrington to Bangor Christian during the 2004-05 school year.

Bradford also scored the final goal after Phinney put a pass right on his foot near the goal for a point-blank shot with 11 minutes left.

“He was with us in eighth grade and we were all friends, so having him back was great,” Phinney said about Bradford’s transfer, which eased the loss of three likely starters who transferred from BC before classes started this fall. “We’ve been friends since we were little kids. It was a great transition for him and us.”

Senior Jared Cook scored the final goal of the first half off a pretty corner kick by senior captain Shane Murphy.

Patriots goaltender Josh Frost notched his fourth shutout with seven saves, only one of which came in the second half as Richmond mustered only two shots.

“Our defense is the best in the state, I think,” Frost said. “They’ve basically made me look good all year long. It has been kind of boring back there sometimes, but I don’t mind that at all.”

Richmond goalie Kyle Lancaster finished with 14 saves.