THORNDIKE — For the second time in a week, the Mount View boys soccer team found itself behind. And, for the second time in that same week, the Mustangs were unfazed.
Mount View scored three times after halftime, including a goal and an assist from senior Elijah Allen, en route to a 3-1 win over John Bapst in a cross-class meeting Saturday morning. Draedyn Furrow and Noah Jacobs also scored in the second half for the Mustangs, negating a first-half goal from Crusader Max Poth.
Mount View (11-1-0) appeared as lethargic as the weather, cold and damp, through the first 40 minutes. Head coach Jeremy Von Oesen didn’t cue up Vince Lombardi or Jimmy Valvano to find the inspiration for a motivational halftime speech, instead opting to remind the Mustangs about the simple, structural things that could turn things around.
“We talked about marking. If you don’t mark the midfield, you do a lot of running and you get tired,” Von Oesen said. “That’s what happened, we got tired chasing the ball around in the first half. We talked about, not space, but marking men. That’s the big thing we push every game. We mark the midfield, we’re OK.”
Furrow scored in the 43rd minute to tie things a 1-1, and Mount View — second in the Class C North standings with two games remaining — was off and running from there.
“Whenever we get down and get that first goal, it gets us pumped up,” Furrow said. “It gets us to our next one, and our next one, and we keep going. I noticed their defense wasn’t working as hard and got tired (in the second half).”
Mustang senior Atlas Hubbard set the play in motion, turning a 50-50 ball win in the midfield into space going forward before threading the needle to split the Crusader back line and send Furrow in 1-on-1 with the opposing goalkeeper. Even after a sloppy first touch, Furrow didn’t stop pushing the play — fighting through two John Bapst challenges to knock the ball over the goal line.
“He never gave up,” Von Oesen said. “That moment changed everything.”
There was no panic at all in the Mustangs at the break, despite it being only the third time all season they had trailed in a game.
They trailed in their lone loss of the season to Class B Medomak Valley, a 1-0 loss on Sept. 24, and last Saturday in a 5-2 win over Class C compatriot Maranacook.
“We try to stay calm and work together as a team,” Furrow said. “We’ve been down in games. We just can’t give up. We started to communicate and mark up better and trust one another. We had some better balls, and I think we got used to the wet field.”
Allen nearly gave Mount View the lead in the 55th minute, pounding his bad angle bid off the right post before Ruben Schofield launched the follow-up opportunity over the crossbar.
Allen got his revenge 12 minutes later, playing a wonderful ball through to Jacobs, which Jacobs slotted home cleanly for the 2-1 lead. Allen added an insurance marker in the 80th minute.
All of that came after Poth’s goal in the 34th minute. A sloppy clear from the Mustang six-yard box sent a bounding ball Poth’s way, and he perfectly timed his one-timer to the top corner from 20 yards out.
Mount View keeper Ricky Nelson finished the day with four saves. Counterpart Nic Johnson made eight saves.
John Bapst is now 8-4-0.
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