WINSLOW — The Winslow boys soccer team distinguished itself as one of the top teams in the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class B division Tuesday afternoon with an impressive 6-1 win over Mt. View at Kennebec Savings Bank Field.
Gabe Smith broke open a close game early in the second half, scoring a pair of goals in the first 6 minutes, 18 seconds to give Winslow a 4-1 lead. Smith, who scored the game’s first goal, finished with three goals and an assist.
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“You give Gabe Smith to us and we win 6-1,” Mt. View coach Chris Hink said. “If our team played like Gabe Smith played, no one would touch us.”
Smith not only drew high praise from Hink, but also from his teammates, especially Connor Wildes, who had the task of marking Mt. View’s highly-regarded Italian exchange student Lorenzo Milani.
“Leadership and Gabe’s influence helped settles us down,” Wildes said. “In the second half we gained composure and we dominated.”
Winslow led 2-1 after a tightly contested first half. Smith scored first at 35:09, using his quickness to strip the ball from a Mt. View defender and outrace everyone down the field before slamming the ball into the back of the net.
Logan Vashon then sliced a pass through the Winslow defense, finding Milani on the left side of the penalty box. Vashon’s pass put Milani in an excellent position for a left-footed ground ball into the right corner to tie the game at the 19:44 mark.
From that point on, Wildes and his teammates held the Mustangs scoreless for the final 60 minutes.
“I didn’t know what to expect from him (Milani),” Wildes said. “He’s a really good player and I had plenty of help from my teammates in the first half. In the second half, we went more to a zone defense and I only covered him when he got the ball.”
Winslow’s Taylor Roy made it 2-1 when he stole a pass in the middle of the field, moved to his left and fired a hard shot past Mt. View goalie Mikey Hustus with 17:08 left in the first half.
Mt. View had an 8-6 shot advantage in the first, but Winslow started quick in the second half to take a 4-1 lead.
“We deflated them,” Smith said. “Our team likes to come out with intensity early in each half and make a strong effort to score.”
Evan Clark found Smith open at the penalty area line with a crisp ground pass. Smith collected the ball with his back to the goal, turned and fired a low shot into the corner. Four minutes later, Smith tucked the ball into the right side.
“Today we played more of a possession game,” Smith said. “We got a lot of help from our defense, especially sweeper Braden Maillet.”
Maillet and defensive teammates Wildes, Cody Doughty and Dakota Herman were outstanding, especially in the second half, holding the Mustangs to just three long shots outside the penalty area.
Roy added to the lead midway through the second half, hitting a swerving ball into the top corner while David Grant scored on a penalty kick to make it 6-1.
Winslow keeper Alex Berard made two saves while Hustus had one.
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