BREWER – The Bangor boys soccer team tried the conventional ways to score in the first half of Tuesday afternoon’s matchup against rival Brewer.

In the second half, the Rams put in two rather unconventional goals to earn a 2-0 victory in a key Class A matchup at Doyle Field.

The two teams entered the game with a combined record of 7-2-1. Bangor is now 5-1, while Brewer goes to 3-2-1.

Ryan Jeffrey scored his third goal in two games. The senior striker netted the eventual game-winner, as he did in Saturday’s win against Old Town.

“We had to keep the ball down, play simple balls and everything would work out,” he said.

Jeffrey’s goal originated as a scramble between Bangor forward Jeremy Kenney and Brewer defender Zack Bouzan-Kaloustian near the goal. The two players fell to the ground, the ball squirted out to Jeffrey and he simply shot it in.

“Jeremy did all the work,” Jeffrey said. “He and B-K were scrapping and I was right there on the doorstep and tapped it in.”

Brewer coach Darren Hall was pleased with how his defense handled Jeffrey.

“We limited him pretty well and he wasn’t involved a lot. He just had that one touch,” Hall said. “We were more concerned with playing defensively. We were trying to pick our spots and attack without being as vulnerable defensively as we have been in past games.”

Bret Mitchell gave the Rams an insurance goal with 13:35 left. Mitchell had the ball on the left wing and Brewer goalie Matt Quimby came out for a save. But Mitchell got the ball past Quimby and shot it into the open net.

Bangor goalie Payson Nichols made three saves on seven shots to earn his third shutout of the season.

Brewer’s Zack Lingley nearly scored with 20 seconds left in the first half when he kicked a ball just over the crossbar. Nichols had to make a tough save with about 23 minutes left in the game, but Bangor’s defense held up.

“We didn’t really zero in on anybody,” said fullback Tyler Sing. “We just had to keep our defense tight and make sure nobody got by us.”

In the first half, Bangor’s forwards made runs but sent shots wide and over the goal.

“Things just weren’t working out well in the beginning but I think we realized we’d have better chances in the second half if we kept working,” Mitchell said.

Quimby and Zack Van Dyne combined for eight saves on 19 shots.