WINSLOW — The Winslow boys soccer team picked up a win over Erskine on Tuesday, but it didn’t come easy.

Up 2-0 early in the second half, the Eagles picked up the intensity and the pressure, cutting the lead in half with 12 minutes to play. But Erskine ran out of time and scoring opportunities, and Winslow managed to hold on for a 2-1 victory on senior day at Kennebec Savings Bank Field.

The contest was a far cry from the first meeting between the squads. Winslow (11-2-0) cruised to a 4-0 victory over Erskine (8-4-1) back on Sept. 23, a game where Winslow jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the first half.

“In the first three minutes (of the first game), we were down 2-0. It’s hard to dig yourself out of a hole,” Erskine coach Carrie Larrabee said. “Watching film, I thought we did some nice things in that game, and Winslow is certainly a really good team. But we thought it was someone who we could compete with — not at a 4-0 level. We came in today and kept working hard.”

“The game seemed a little more open (from the first match),” Winslow coach Aaron Wolfe said. “The game seemed a little more open even though the scoring was different. Both ways, at times, the game was wide open defensively. At times, there was miscommunication, maybe miscommunication in marking…I also didn’t think we looked to possess as much as we had in the first game, which is a strength, I feel.”

In Tuesday’s match, neither team gave much ground for the first 24 minutes. Eventually, the Black Raiders took control of possession and shots on goal. Winslow notched the first goal of the game with 16 minutes left in the first half, when Jake Warn took a pass from Daylon Carpenter and knocked it into the back-right corner of the net for a 1-0 lead, where it remained until halftime.

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“I just saw two defenders coming in quick, so I just tried to toe it really quick in the corner, and it happened to go in,” Warn said.

Erskine employed a physical attack offensively and defensively on the Black Raiders.

“It was intense,” Warn said. “It wasn’t as physical (in the first meeting)… but we just started to butt heads there at the end.”

Winslow stayed patient offensively, keeping its composure — and it would pay off — as Isaac Lambrecht received a timely pass from Alexander Swiercz, found space in front of the net and slipped a shot past Erskine goalkeeper David McGraw for a 2-0 lead with 28 minutes to play.

Erskine, however, wouldn’t back down. The Eagles kept scrapping, and with 12 minutes left, it broke through. It came in a scrum in front of the Winslow net, with Michael Sprague finding a way to shoot the ball by Winslow goalie Jake Lapierre to cut the deficit to 2-1.

The two teams battled back and forth the rest of the contest. Erskine had a small window of opportunity with less than a minute to play, but the Eagles were called for goalie obstruction, giving the ball back to the Black Raiders and essentially ending the match.

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“We had a few other good chances, but we didn’t quite capitalize,” Wolfe said. “But I think two against a good team is a good score.”

The teams may meet again, as Winslow and Erskine are on pace for appearances in the Class B North playoffs. Warn said he just wants to keep his senior season going as long as possible.

“We’ve been together since (youth soccer) and we don’t want our season to end,” Warn said. “We just love playing with each other. It’s nice to be able to keep that going. That’s all we want to do, keep playing with each other (through the playoffs). We don’t want that to stop.”

Dave Dyer — 621-5640

ddyer@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @Dave_Dyer


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