Brewer holds on, corrals Broncos Sasaki goal powers Witches to ‘monumental’ victory over Hampden

BREWER – Considering the six goals scored in the first half, fans at Tuesday night’s game between the Brewer and Hampden boys soccer teams likely settled in after halftime for another dose of offense.

Instead, those in the stands at Doyle Field had to settle for one goal – but for the home team, it was enough.

Brewer’s Shun Sasaki provided the game winner 10 minutes into the second half as the Witches finally took the lead for good, holding on for a 4-3 victory over the Broncos.

Just how big of a win was it for Brewer, which avenged a 3-2 overtime defeat to Hampden on Sept. 14?

“Monumental,” Brewer senior fullback Chris Corey said. “It’s just feels great to beat a team that’s that good.”

Brewer, now 7-3-2, was ranked No. 5 in the most recent Eastern Maine Class A Heal point standings. Hampden (6-3-1) was No. 7, just 3.3 points behind the Witches.

“We’re starting to get some big wins now, like the Messalonskee win,” senior halfback Prentiss Swett said of a 2-1 victory over the fourth-ranked Eagles of Oakland on Sept. 27. “You’ve got to start rolling when you get close to the playoffs. We’ve got two more [games] and if we can keep winning, it helps a lot.”

Brewer freshman Jacob O’Donnell scored two goals for the Witches, including the first and last in a back-and-forth first half.

The Broncos tied the game and took a 2-1 lead on goals by Brad Haase and Harvey Shue, respectively. Brewer’s Evan Nadeau knotted it up at 2-2, but Hampden came back again with a goal from John D’Haiti to take a 3-2 lead.

O’Donnell closed out the half with a goal 59 seconds before the horn.

Hampden outshot Brewer 8-4 in the second half, but the Witches converted their first attempt of the period when senior Sasaki kicked in a pass from Ryan Nadeau. Swett started the play with one of his long trademark throw-ins.

“Prentiss threw it perfect and Ryan put it through to me perfect,” said Sasaki, a senior striker who was part of a group of Brewer forwards called offside four times in the first half and none in the second. “All I had to do was tap it in.”

Once the Witches took the lead, Brewer’s defense shut out the Broncs. Not only did Brewer goalie Chris Brady come up with some nifty late saves, but the Witches managed to stop some of Hampden’s dangerous crossing passes. D’Haiti’s goal was scored off a cross from Shue.

“We shut down their crosses from the corners,” Swett said. “That’s how they got their goals. We made sure they couldn’t serve from the corners. That cuts their offense out of it.”

Brady saved a shot by Nate Clark, who worked his way through the Witches defenders and was alone for his attempt early in the second half. Brady also scooped up a hard-hit free kick by Nick El-Hajj with less than three minutes remaining.

“We couldn’t get a break,” Hampden coach Ryan Shaw said. “They got the breaks and we didn’t.”

Brady made seven saves on 14 shots. Hampden’s Maic Frieden had five saves on 13 shots.

JV: Brewer 1-0