Broncos accomplish their goal Shue, Hampden oust defending champ Rams

BANGOR – It’s what the Hampden Academy boys soccer team has been working toward all season.

Not only did the No. 7 Broncos finally get a win against defending Class A state champion Bangor, but Hampden accomplished its goal at a most opportune time – the Eastern Maine Class A quarterfinals Friday afternoon at a misty, wet Bangor High field.

Harvey Shue’s late goal knocked off No. 2 Bangor 1-0, ending the Rams’ chance to defend their title and handing previously undefeated Bangor its first loss since Sept. 12, 2006.

Hampden, now 11-4-1, moves on to Tuesday’s semifinal, where the Broncos will travel to Topsham to take on No. 3 Mount Ararat. The Eagles defeated No. 11 Leavitt of Turner 2-0.

Despite Bangor’s recent run, higher seeding and two wins against Hampden in this year’s 13-0-1 regular season, the Broncos seemed primed for a win over their rivals. Bangor’s 2006 defeat was a 1-0 loss to Hampden .

“We’ve been working for this all year long,” said Shue, one of Hampden’s four senior captains. “All year long it’s been Bangor, Bangor, Bangor, you can’t let them get in there, do this and that. It just feels like we’ve overcome something.”

It was the final game for Bangor coach Adam Leach, who is stepping down after nine years with the program.

“We had our run last year and you can’t expect that’s going to happen every year,” he said. “At some point it was going to end. It ended today.”

Shue’s score, which came with a mere 4 minutes, 39 seconds left in the second half, was the culmination of a period spent mostly with the Broncos in charge.

Although second-half shots were even at six apiece, Hampden held possession for much of the half and pressured the Ram defense.

“I think the style of the game changed a little bit, more to their favor,” Leach said. “The ball was up in the air a lot, there were a lot more longer balls, and we need to be able to keep the ball on the ground.”

The Broncos took four shots before Shue got to the right side and took a hard, curving shot at the near post. Bangor goalie Erik Milles dove for the ball and was able to get a hand on it, but the ball came loose and rolled into the net.

“I touched the ball to the side and had a shot that sort of bent around the post,” Shue said. “I was looking down when I shot it, but I knew I hit the ball well. I was hoping and hoping.”

Bangor had a chance after a Hampden player was issued a yellow card, which allowed the Rams to set up a free kick in their offensive half.

Christian Larochelle took the kick, booting it on the ground ahead for a Bangor player to run on. The Rams got off a shot, but Hampden’s Nick Beal slid in front of it and it hit him in the back. The Broncos were eventually able to clear it away.

Bangor had a 5-2 shot advantage in the first half.

“Our main goal was to keep them scoreless for most of the game,” said Beal, a midfielder and captain. “They’ve never been in that situation, being one of the best teams around. We just wanted to keep the offense pushing through. We got the momentum going.”

Hampden’s Cam Cox had eight saves, while Milles finished with four.

Nick George, Bangor’s leading scorer with 12 goals, played sporadically because he suffered a foot injury in Bangor’s 2-1 win over Hampden Oct. 11.