Bamford’s 3 goals power John Bapst to quarterfinal win over Mount View

HERMON – What do you call it when you outshoot a team 17-6 in the half, outplay your opponent for 30 of the 40 minutes, and still wind up watching a 2-0 deficit grow?

Most people call it frustration. Mount View boys soccer coach Chris Hink calls it the second half of Saturday’s Eastern Maine Class B quarterfinal against top-seeded John Bapst of Bangor.

The 12-2-1 Crusaders made it look easier than it was, or at least should have been, as they charged past the No. 8 Mustangs of Thorndike into the semifinals with a 6-0 victory on a relentlessly windy and cold afternoon at Hermon High.

“We dominated 30 minutes, I felt, in the second half, but they still scored four goals,” Hink said, rolling his eyes. “They have great overlapping runs, they move the ball well, and anticipate passes well…. John Bapst is on a mission.”

Both head coaches used the same grade when assessing John Bapst’s play.

“They’re bringing their ‘A’ game right now and we’re going to be tough to beat … real tough to beat,” said coach Andy Frace, whose Crusaders host No. 4 Winslow, a 3-1 winner over Caribou in a Wednesday semifinal.

Bapst senior Ian Bamford led the way with a hat trick, scoring the first, third and fifth goals of the game. He also assisted on another goal.

“They’re really strong up the middle, so we had to try and contain their big guns in the middle and push it to the outside,” Bamford said. “Due to the wind, we had to keep it on the ground but, other than that, we did what we always do.”

Well, they don’t always score six goals in a game, but watching the Bapst offense crank up Saturday was like watching a revolving door during a Christmas shopping rush.

Bapst scored 3 minutes, 22 seconds into the game on a long kick from the middle of the field about 25 yards out by Jordan Myers. Mustangs goalie Ross Caron deflected the ball back out for a save, but the rebound went left to Bamford, who tapped it into the left corner.

The second score came with 28:10 left in the half, when Casey Hull took a pass from Bamford, caught Caron in the middle of the net, and hit a laser shot into the left corner.

The Crusaders struck even earlier and more often in the second half, making it 3-0 just 12 seconds into the half as Bamford knocked one in off Nick Hubbard’s precise pass.

“It didn’t take much,” Bamford said. “That one was all Nick. He always gives me perfect passes.”

Hubbard added another one later for Bamford, but also scored himself off a Hull assist. The last one came from Peter Lundquist with 15:51 left.

Bapst outshot Mount View 8-6 in the first half, but wound up being outshot 17-14 overall.

Senior goalie Chris Smith, wearing a protective face mask, wasn’t too bothered by the mask’s slight impairment of his vision as he stopped nine of 11 shots. Smith, who was kicked in the face at a game against Caribou, was again kicked with 24:04 left when he flopped down on a loose ball.

Although Smith was unhurt, Frace took him out as a precaution. Late-season JV call-up Ethan Sale made five saves on six shots in Smith’s stead.

Caron finished with eight saves on 14 Bapst shots for the 6-7-3 Mustangs.