RICHMOND — It may be Peter Gardner’s first year as Richmond boys soccer coach but he’s no first-year coach.

Two years after retiring from a successful 43-year career at Brunswick High School, Gardner accepted the head coaching position in his hometown.

So far, so good.

Richmond ran its Western Maine Class D record to 9-0-0 on Tuesday with a dominating 5-0 win against Greenville. The win was the sixth shutout of the season for the Bobcats, who employ the same ball-control and defensive mindset that Gardner did in amassing 463 wins and six Class A state titles at Brunswick,

“That’s the name of the game this year,” said sophomore Cody Tribbet, who scored a goal and added an assist.

The Bobcats got goals from Curtis Anderson and Tribbet in the first half despite battling a strong wind. Anderson knocked in a rebound of Brandon Emmons’ shot off the left post less than nine minutes in, and Tribbet took advantage of miscommunication between Lakers keeper Matt Mendes and a defender by lofting a shot from 20 yards out into the far left corner of the net.

“I knew the keeper was out so I just shot it,” he said.

The Lakers (5-5) managed just one shot on goal in the first half and three in the second due to the fact the Bobcats controlled the ball 90 percent of the game.

“We figured we’d get exposed,” said Greenville coach Jeff Richards whose team lost 3-0 to the Bobcats earlier this season “They just possessed.”

The second half was a little more lopsided than the first as the Lakers had trouble getting the ball over midfield. Again, they had difficulty getting the ball away from the Bobcats.

“We have a strong goal to keep the ball on the ground,” center midfielder Cameron Emmons said.

Brandon Emmons made it 3-0 12 minutes into the half when he stuffed in a nifty pass from Tribbet along the end line.

“The kids are focusing on the things they need to do,” Gardner said. “They’re starting to think a little bit more.”

Senior Marcus Blake scored the final two goals, the first on a long curving shot from 20 yards that beat Mendes to the left corner and second on another long shot that escaped the Lakers keeper after an initial stop.

The Bobcats outshot the Lakers 22-3. Starting freshman keeper Zach Small didn’t have a save in the first half, although Greenville did have one good scoring chance that was stopped by Anderson in the goalmouth following a corner kick. Sophomore Matt Holt had three saves in the second half, including a diving stop off a direct kick labeled for the far right corner of the goal.

“They’re a disciplined team,” Richards said.

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