MTA presses on to Western C finals

Driving duo Alex Crossman (left) and Mita Popovic (right) combine for a powerful offense for the Mt. Abram varsity soccer team this post season. Here they attack during the semifinal game which they won against Georges Valley. With the victory, Mt. Abram will play in the Western finals on Wednesday, Nov. 5 in Salem against Waynflete at 2 p.m. (David Hart photo)
Semi-finals:
Mt. Abram, 1
Georges Valley, 0

SALEM - - In a well-played MVC match-up between two evenly matched squads last Saturday, a scoreless fist half mostly controlled by Mt. Abram proved to be anyone's contest. The stakes were high for both teams as the winners would advance to the Western C finals to host the 11th ranked Waynflete team today, Nov. 5. The winner of the western finals travels to the state championship game at a location to be determined.

Waynflete (4-7-3) has four wins in their regular season. It's however noted that Waynflete regular season consisted of a tough schedule playing against many southern Maine Class B schools.

It's also noted that Traip Academy beat Waynflete 2-0 in their regular season.

MTA, who outshot Georges Valley 15-5, finally put one in the right spot 10-minutes into the second half.

Senior Serbian striker Dimitri (Mita) Popovic found that he had control of the ball 25 yards out with no one but the keeper in his path to the net. After just two touches he deemed it was time around the 18 yard marker and blistered a lightening bolt to the right of the Bucs' keeper that was untouchable.

"It thought it was the perfect ball just bouncing a little bit and heading toward the goalie, so I just knew I could kick it where I wanted," Popovic explained after the game when asked why he didn't dribble closer.

This goal proved to be the only goal and the winning score on the night. MTA worked the clock and went into a defensive mode as the clock ticked away.

Georges Valley put up an impressive attack late in the game as MTA keeper Sam Simpson earned his win on the evening. With minutes remaining a Georges Valley kick from the corner was off a Buccaneer head right on net, but Simpson was there to make a game saving snag.

"It just landed in my chest," Simpson explained. "On headed balls, you just have to try to guess where they're going to be. I ended up in the right spot. I guess I got lucky with it coming off his head and landing right in my chest."

Simpson said he's high on life after the game and said he can't wait for Wednesday's game. "We're coming at them."

Ethan Eisenhaur, Greg Dexter, Dylan Tisor and Mike Bonney played particularly strong games that evening on defense. "We came out there playing to win," Eisenhaur said. "Waynflete is very technical and very good and we're going to go all out when we face them," Eisenhaur added.

Assistant coach Mark Lopez told the team in the locker room after the game that all but four teams (east and west) are passing in uniforms and taking down nets. The Mt. Abram team is however, playing on. "It feels special. When they say we're only a handful of kids in the state of Maine still playing soccer, it really feels good," Eisenhaur added.

Defense, they say, is what wins championships as attackers have to get past the persistent wings and senior stopper Alex Tuttle and final sweeper Mike Bonney before they have a chance in scoring.

"Basically I try to slow down the play and I watch them and pretty much wait for a mistake," Bonney explained." If you wait long enough they'll get itchy and try to put the ball to the corner - -then you cut them off, shield out or kick it out of bounds," Bonney added. "You just try to get numbers behind the ball."

Bonney explained that this year feels great as a senior having been ousted from playoff contention in the past two years in the first round. "They may have more technical skill then we do, but we're going to go out there and play with more heart than them and play with more intensity and try to beat them to the ball. That's what really matters when it comes down to it," Bonney said.

"This has been really exciting," Tuttle explained. "The community has been really good in backing us up and we get a lot of support from the school, the fans and all the home town support. It's been uplifting and a great experience."

"If we play to our potential, there's no one in the state that could beat us. Sincerely, if we play like I've seen us play, how hard I've seen us work in practice, in pre-season and in scrimmages and everything else. There's no one that could beat us if we play to our potential." Tuttle said. "We just have to get in the mindset early and take it one game at a time. We can't get ahead of ourselves. We just need to focus on each of us and do what individuals have to do to help the overall team. If each of us does our part the overall team will prevail," Tuttle continued.

After the game, Coach Darren Allen credited the Georges Valley team in playing a very good game that evening. "They marked our strikers very tightly, they gave us problems at mid field… a lot of credit has to go out to Georges Valley."

This is the third time in Mt. Abram's school history that they've ever participated in a Western Maine Class C final.