SOUTH CHINA — The Gardiner boys soccer team left nothing to chance in its Class B South quarterfinal game against Erskine Academy on Thursday afternoon.
The Tigers scored three first half goals and cruised to a 3-1 win over the Eagles.
“It’s very nice (to win),” said Gardiner senior Patrick Mansir, who scored a goal. “Erskine is a team that we see a lot, so it’s always good to see them (in the quarterfinal) than some of the teams that we could have seen. We’re happy with the result.”
No. 5 Gardiner (9-5-1) will play at No. 1 Cape Elizabeth in a regional semifinal game Saturday. The Capers (13-0-1) beat the Tigers 3-0 in the semifinal round last year.
“It’s always great to win a playoff game,” Gardiner head coach Nick Wallace said. “We’ve had some great battles with Erskine, this year and in the past. We knew coming in it would be a dog fight and I think we came out very well today.”
No. 4 Erskine ended its season 7-4-4.
Gardiner scored its first goal five minutes in, as Mansir knocked a shot into the back corner of the net for a 1-0 lead. Eleven minutes later, junior Aiden Paradis scored off a corner kick for a 2-0 lead.
Senior Dylan Staples added a goal nine minutes later, and the Tigers entered halftime with a 3-0 lead.
Gardiner goalie Connor Fairservice (00) makes a save as teammate Dillon Elliot (4) defends Erskine’s Holden McKenney during a Class B South quarterfinal game Thursday in South China. Michael G. Seamans/Morning Sentinel
“We know we wanted to shoot a lot on them,” Mansir said. “In terms of the best results that we have against Erskine, it’s when we get a lot of shots on goal.”
“When that third goal goes in, you know (as a coach) you have that ability to move guys around and play a little more conservative,” Wallace added. “Unfortunately, at times, I thought we got a little too conservative. But we did what we needed to do to win (Thursday).”
Erskine improved its play in the second half, flipping the offensive pressure. Holden McKenney scored for the Eagles on a header off a corner kick with four minutes remaining in the second half.
“We can’t come and play just one half of soccer,” Erskine head coach Carrie Larrabee said. “We just came out flat (in the first half) and did not play our game and put ourselves in a hole. We played a great second half. We won (the second half) 1-0, but that doesn’t get it done. It’s super frustrating.”
Mansir said the Tigers are looking forward to the rematch with Cape Elizabeth.
“Last year was really the first time we played anybody good from down south,” Mansir said. “It’s nice to see them again. It means we’re doing what we should be doing to see them over and over again.”
Gardiner went 2-0-1 over Erskine this season. The Tigers beat the Eagles 2-1 in the season opener on Sept. 2 and the teams played to a 0-0 tie on Oct. 4.
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