Shiretowners capture gold!

PioneerTimesphotograph/Joseph Cyr
HOME — The Houlton boys hang out the windows as they pull  into the high school last Saturday night after bringing home the first-ever gold ball in the school’s history.
Houlton boys win school’s first-ever gold soccer ball
By Gloria Austin
Staff Writer
    After lofting the gold ball above their heads, the Houlton Shiretowners ran toward the sideline and hoisted it again to the supportive contingent cheering loudly.
    “We’ve come a long way,” said Houlton coach Mike Carlos.
    The Houlton Shiretowners defeated the Hall-Dale Bulldogs 2-0 to bring home the first-ever gold soccer ball in the school’s history last Saturday at Scarborough High School.
    “There is no greater feeling … like I can’t even explain this right now,” said senior midfielder Brandon Ward.
Pioneer Times photograph/Gloria Austin
PLAY OF THE GAME — The play of the state game came when senior striker Jimmy Fitzpatrick of Houlton and Hall-Dale goalie Sam Shepherd collided. Shepherd was taken out of the game and less than a minute later, Fitzpatrick scored the game-winner.
    “The seniors have been at this for four years,” said Carlos. “When I came, they had a poor record and we worked at it and every year, our record got better. Now, we’ve completed what we started.
    “We were happy with what we did last year,” added Carlos, “but, it was not what we were really reaching for. We’ve talked about this for a long time as a unit and this is one of the happiest things that has ever happened to me. The gold balls in basketball were nice, but no one expected it in soccer.”
    The big play of the game came with 3:56 left in regulation when senior striker Jimmy Fitzpatrick rushed toward the goal and collided with Hall-Dale goalie Sam Shepherd. Shepherd was shaken up on the play.
     “I was running through the ball,” said Fitzpatrick. “It’s a 50-50 ball and you’ve got to go to it.”
    In the collision, Fitzpatrick’s shoulder struck Shepherd in the face. Shepherd came out of the game with a bloody nose.
SUPPORT — The Houlton bench claps for the goals scored by their teammates. The reserve players give support to the starting lineup.
    “Their goalie getting hurt had a big impact on this game,” said Carlos. “I think he might have made the play on that ball. But, we will never know now, will we?”
    With three minutes left, Dan Swallow provided a long throw-in from the right wing to Kyle Bouchard, who skimmed the ball to the penalty box area. Fitzpatrick split two defenders and stepped in to head the ball to the lower left corner of the net, as Hall-Dale sophomore backup goalie Brian Allen was caught overplaying to his right.
    “Kyle just gets his head on every ball that is in the area,” said Fitzpatrick. “I knew it would be coming back so I knew where to play just by playing with him.”
    Just 23 seconds later, Fitzpatrick set up Isaac Cone’s goal when he outran a Hall-Dale player for the ball on the right wing. As he neared the 18-yard line, Allen slid out in an attempt to smother the ball, but Fitzpatrick skipped over him to Cone who sent the ball inside the left post of an open net.
HEADER — Barrett Dunn of Houlton gets ready to head the ball against a Hall-Dale defender.
    “I don’t even know how to describe it,” said junior goalie Kole Buzzeo of winning the Class C state soccer title. “It is just awesome.”
    The Bulldogs pressed the Houlton defense through the first half with a solid  passing game.
    “They didn’t have a lot of hard shots from far out,” said Buzzeo. “Most of their shots were close and we didn’t mark up. I was able to stay back in the goal and be ready for them.”
    “Kole is the backbone of the team,” said Carlos. “He had to make some saves early on and he was in the right position to make the saves.”
    What the Shires weren’t doing as well as Carlos and assistant coach Matt Swallow wanted was closing the defensive gaps.
    “We were letting them have people to pass the ball to,” Carlos said. “We needed to eliminate their passing opportunities. Once we eliminated those passing opportunities, it changed the whole game.”
    One of the more challenging Bulldog shots came about 13 minutes into the game from the top of the penalty box area. The ball was sent straight on the goal. Through traffic, Buzzeo made an exceptional save when he darted to his left, diving to the ground, to shuffle the ball away.
    “They got a lot more shots in the first half,” said Buzzeo. “But in the second half, our defense settled in and really started playing well.”
    Hall-Dale held a 5-3 advantage of shots on goal in the opening 40 minutes of play.
    “We weren’t rotating at all,” said Carlos. “Alex had to step up and guard their stud. [Once he  did], they couldn’t get the ball to him and it took everything away from them. We needed to find what the other team likes to do and take it away from them.”
    Hall-Dale was outshot by Waynflete — who defeated the Shires last year 1-0 in the state game — 27-5 in the West regional final.
    “We knew their offense wasn’t strong,” said Fitzpatrick. “We knew we had a good defense.”
LONG THROW — Houlton’s Dan  Swallow provided the bulk of the throw-ins, including the one that set up the game-winning goal.
    And, those defenders stymied the Bulldogs’ chances. One of those plays was when Colin Lush of Hall-Dale setup for a direct kick. Houlton set a mini-wall of Ward, Ethan Morse and Alex Casillas. On the kick, Casillas blocked the ball with his head, rolling it to the right sideline, where Houlton took control.   
    Offensively, the Shires had multiple runs at the goal through the game with Gage Hunt, Ward, Bouchard, and Fitzpatrick either shooting high, wide or stopped by Hall Dale’s Shepherd, who was active between the posts.
    One of the better scoring challenges came with 1:46 left to the half when Fitzpatrick who was on the right wing just outside the 18-yard line drilled a liner that rang off the right goal post.
    “Really all they did was keep all their players back,” explained Fitzpatrick. “Once they had to push them all up to get the lead there was no match.”
    The second half the Shires continued to press Hall-Dale’s defense, out-shooting the Bulldogs 6-3.
    “They were tough,” said Ward. “But, we knew if we played our game we were going to win this. It was there all season. We just had to take it.”
STOPS BALL — Houlton’s Dan Howe goes up to take the ball off his chest to stop Hall-Dale’s Nat Crocker from progressing toward the Shires’ goal.
    Last year’s state loss served as a great motivator, said Carlos.
    “We really wanted this bad,” he said.
    “I have thought about this game ever since we were down here last year,” said Fitzpatrick. “To make it come true is indescribable.”
    The Shiretowners started the season with two losses, but remained undefeated the rest of the way.
    “People talk about teams starting undefeated, I want to finish that way,” Carlos added.
    Next year, the Shires will be without their four seniors Ward, Fitzpatrick, Morse and Swallow.
    “We need to find the right pieces,” said Carlos. “We will find 11 or 12 players and see how they fit on the field.”
    “Taking this as your last game ever … to win the gold ball … there is no greater atmosphere than everyone traveling six hours to be here, to watch us play and cheer us on,” said Ward.MAKES HIS MOVE — Houlton’s Brandon Ward moves the ball up the field against Hall-Dales No. 14 Colin Lush and No. 7 Wyatt Rush.

USING HIS HEAD — Houlton sophomore Jake Carter heads the ball during last Saturday’s state Class C championship game.