RICHMOND — After winning the first two games on its Class D schedule by a combined 12-2 score, the Richmond boys soccer team was anxious to find an early season measuring stick for itself.
St. Dominic Academy showed up at Coughlin Field on Monday, and the Bobcats found they measured up quite nicely against the Class C side.
Nursing a one-goal advantage despite thoroughly dominating in virtually every meaningful facet of the game, Richmond punched in a pair of late goals to post a 3-0 win over the Saints and remain unbeaten. Ford Strout, Cody Tribbet and Mitch Couturier netted the goals for Richmond.
“It’s good just to be able to see where we’re at in terms of playing against teams like (St. Dom’s), and what they’re doing and how we’re able to react,” Richmond coach Pete Gardner said. “That’s a possession team, and you’re not going to find many of those in Class D. We had to do some adjusting to different things, and as it went on, we got a little better at it.”
St. Dom’s (0-2-0) generated just two shots over the 80 minutes, both of them harmlessly awry of the goal itself.
When the Saints were able to build something through the middle of the field, Bobcat center backs Matt Rines and Dan Stewart ably cleaned up.
“We’re more of a defensively-minded team,” Rines said. “I get motivation from that. When we have a lead, I try and have the mindset that, ‘OK, they’re not going to score.'”
Richmond opened its account in the 17th minute. Saints goalkeeper Brandon Glover made a leaping save on a Justin Vachon drive against the crossbar, but Glover couldn’t get a grasp on the ball and Strout pounced on the loose ball along the goal line to make it a 1-0 game.
Glover kept St. Dom’s within striking distance with good goalkeeping the rest of the way, including stops on Vachon in the 26th minute and on Brandon Emmons in the 69th minute.
But Glover couldn’t singlehandedly turn the tide that had been building throughout the match, and the Bobcats finally got themselves the cushion they rightly deserved. On the 11th Richmond corner kick of the second half alone, Nate Kendrick’s corner kick pinballed off a couple of St. Dom’s defenders along the goal line before Tribbet found enough space for a simple tap-in score in the 75th minute.
“With the way we moved the ball and possessed it, it was good work from us,” Tribbet said. “I could feel one coming, I just didn’t expect it to be that one. I saw Nate kick it, and as I was going to it, the goalie just fumbled it. I just poked it in with my foot.”
Five minutes later, Couturier was left unmarked and finished off a wonderful left-footer to the far post for the 3-0 win.
“I feel like we’re a higher step above every other team in Class D,” Rines said. “(Class C teams) don’t expect us to be as good as we are. I think we kind of shock them. I think they come in thinking they’re going to pound us, but we show them that they can’t.”
“Heaven knows there’s not that many (Class D) teams, for whatever reason. We’re a Class D school and we play Class D teams and that’s the way it is,” Gardner said. “I was pleased with today. We’re still kind of playing with systems and formations, but it’s early. … We’re trying to improve the kids’ soccer IQ.”
Travis Barrett — 621-5621
tbarrett@centralmaine.com
Twitter: @TBarrettGWC
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