Beal, Broncs topple Rams HA hands first loss to Bangor

HAMPDEN – A soccer goal is eight feet high and Hampden Academy boys soccer coach Ryan Shaw said after Tuesday night’s 1-0 win over archrival Bangor that he was “glad it wasn’t five feet higher.”

That’s because the Rams had the better of the play only to squander one opportunity after another by missing the net.

Hampden junior central midfielder Nick Beal scored the game’s only goal just 8:21 into the game, his fourth of the year.

Hampden is now 2-1 while Bangor, which had scored 21 goals in its first three games, fell to 3-1.

Bangor received an omen of things to come in the opening minute as a well-executed play off the kickoff went for naught when standout freshman Nick George rolled a Troy Jellison pass wide of a wide-open net.

Bangor had 15 shots to Hampden Academy’s nine, but Bronco goalie Cam Cox was forced to make only three saves. Ram goalie Aaron Taft wasn’t required to make a save as Ram defenders blocked a couple of menacing Bronco opportunities.

The Broncos, who have eliminated Bangor from the Eastern Maine Class A playoffs the last two years, were efficient defensively and got numbers back to frustrate the Rams. Senior sweeper Josh Groleau anchored the defense.

“That goal in the first 10 minutes was absolutely huge,” said Beal. “It turned the tables. We were ready to play a defensive game once we got the 1-0 lead. We played a lot of good defense. The midfielders helped us out a ton, the strikers … everyone just came back.”

Beal’s game-winner was set up by junior striker Brad Haase, who slid the ball to him on the right flank.

Beal maneuvered past a Ram back, sliced in on goal, and took a low shot that deflected into the short side off a sliding Ram defender.

“It was all Brad. Without him, it wouldn’t have happened,” said Beal. “I tried to put it in far post and, luckily, it bounced off one of their players and in.”

Bangor’s Tony Martinez had a goal nullified by an offsides call later in the first half and, seven minutes later, Beal saved the day by clearing a ball off his goal line during a flurry.

Cox made his most difficult save with three minutes left in the half.

Following a scramble in the penalty area, Ross Allen squeezed a 17-yarder through a maze of legs only to have Cox dive to his left and punch the ball wide.

Bangor senior central midfielder JoJo Hwalek had three good chances in the first 15 minutes of the second half only to sail all three over the crossbar.

Later, Jellison ran on to a well-placed far-post pass from George only to hit it high.

“We had plenty of opportunities. We just weren’t zoning in,” said Hwalek. “We played well on the ground, but they outworked us in the air.”

Ram coach Adam Leach, said his team “showed our youth and inexperience. We weren’t prepared for this rivalry. We had lots of chances and we wouldn’t have missed them if we were ready.”