Windham boys’ soccer narrowly falls to South Portland

By Matt Pascarella

Windham varsity boys’ soccer played South Portland at Windham on Tuesday, Oct. 21 and it was the final home game of the regular season and also Senior Night; Tate Robinson, Daniel Hancock, Camden Patin, Zabdiel Cayetano, Dylan Crockett, Jack Henry, Braeden Smith and Aidan Difiore were each presented with a gift and, along with their parents, were thanked for their time and dedication to Windham Athletics. Windham fought hard but fell 2-1 to the Red Riots.

Windham senior Daniel Hancock moves to get by a South
Portland defender during a boys' varsity soccer game o
Senior Night at Windham High School on Tuesday, Oct. 21.
PHOTO BY MATT PASCARELLA 

“Even though we lost today, we scored the first goal; we had a lot of energy and that’s really the biggest difference I’ve seen,” said Hancock. “The first half was a little emotional because it’s Senior Night, second half we really settled in. It all started to go well with us putting in tackles and winning the 50-50 balls – it started creating opportunities. If we could score early and play a full 80 minutes instead of letting up after a goal, then we’re going to be good.”

Windham defense showed South Portland they were a strong team. While Windham started a little slow, they soon picked up their pace with multiple shots on goal, though nothing hit the net.

The Eagles pressured and got to the ball first. Offense was solid, but so was South Portland defense. 0-0 at the half.

Roughly 90 seconds into the second half, a pass from Crockett to Hancock found the back of the net to give Windham a 1-0 lead.

“I’ve always known we’ve had a lot of talent on the team, and a lot of chances bit-by-bit, they haven’t all come together at times,” said Crockett. “I’ve noticed we’ve been working really hard lately and getting a lot of momentum; I like what we’re seeing at times. If we keep going this way, we’re going to be a really tough team for people to beat, this loss is a learning lesson; it’s only up from here. We’re not the same team we were from last year; we have a lot of new people filling different spots, so the experience isn’t there always. No excuses, one mistake can change the game. We realized this could be our last game ever on this field and it motivated us to play harder in the second half. If we can keep it consistent, keep our rhythm going (in the postseason), we’re going to be a really good team.”

Moments later South Portland scored and tied the game, 1-1.

Windham defense remained strong. On a South Portland penalty kick, senior Tate Robinson had an excellent save. Windham Offense fired a shot that hit the crossbar.

Eagle intensity dipped a little in the final 20 minutes and that’s when South Portland scored again.

“We were right there with South Portland for most of the game,” said Windham varsity boys’ soccer assistant coach Nick Dubay. “They are coming together at the right time, which is a good thing to see,” “Players are buying into their roles a little better than in the beginning; they see that the (season) is running out and things mean more. Our modus operandi is our own mistakes are killing us. We got to make sure our defense is locked in, which I think it was for 60 minutes tonight ... but couldn’t play the full time. Offensively, I think we're getting there, we need to be patient and just make sure we finish our chances. Defensively, (we need to be) doubling down on marking and being tough out back.” <