LISBON — It seems like every great battle has a favorite and underdog.

When the Lisbon High School boys’ soccer team meets up with rival St. Dom’s in a Mountain Valley Conference clash, the Greyhounds typically play the role of the underdog.

In the latest chapter of this rivalry Friday, St. Dom’s toppled Lisbon, 2-0. This was the second time this season the Saints have shut out the Greyhounds.

“It is a rivalry, with both teams playing hard. Both teams seem to look forward to it,” said Lisbon coach Dan Sylvester, whose Greyhounds are currently seeded eighth in the Class C South with an 8-6 mark. Lisbon, with its regular season completed, will await the final Heal Point standings to determine its playoff opponent.

“This field is so hard to play on, and they play so hard on this field,” St. Dom’s coach Marty Bressler said. “I love this rivalry. Last year, we tied in just an awesome game to be a part of. It is great for the conference to have rivalries like this one.”

Saints strike

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In an evenly played first half of soccer, both teams attempted six shots and earned a pair of corner kicks. But, it was St. Dom’s that grabbed a 1-0 lead. Gavin Bates worked to get control of the ball between a pair of Lisbon defenders before sending a short pass to game-long standout Ryan Lutrzykowski, who didn’t miss as his hard, high shot slipped past Greyhounds goaltender Jonah Sautter (eight saves) for a 1-0 lead.

“It was a big goal. The team played really well, and I got a pass from Gavin that led to the goal,” said Lutrzykowski. “They are a tough opponent to play, especially on their field. It is really intense out there and we all really love it.”

Playing with the winds at their backs in the second half, the Saints owned the middle of the field, as midfielders Cooper Richard, Austin Roy, Jacob Charest, Thomas Arps and Lutrzykowski pushed the Lisbon defense and maintained possession, outshooting the Greyhounds, 10-2 in the second frame.

“I thought we overplayed a little bit and didn’t take away their space,” Sylvester said. “We always needed that one extra pass near midfield to make things happen. We pushed a little bit too much and lost focus.”

St. Dom’s pushed for an insurance goal, but Sautter made a diving save on a shot by Charest, who also sent two direct kicks inches wide of the right post.

The Saints kept coming and found that second goal. Setting up for a corner kick, Roy sent a pass in front of Sautter’s goal. Isaac Lapointe battled with a Lisbon defender, with the ball bouncing off a Greyhound and behind Sautter with 9:03 remaining.

“We knew that we needed a second goal,” said Bressler, whose 9-2-1 Saints host Monmouth on Monday and visit Winthrop on Tuesday.

The frustration mounted for Lisbon, which tried to break around, through or over the Saints defense to no avail. The Greyhounds’ best chance to score came on a long pass from Nick Lerette. St. Dom’s goaltender Alex Michaud (three saves) grabbed the ball, with Lisbon’s Ryley Austin flicking the ball out of the keeper’s grasp and into the net. The goal was waved off and Lisbon watched the time run out on its Senior Day with a 2-0 loss.

Standouts for Lisbon included defenseman Jacob Fusaro, midfielder Austin Bedford and forward Troy Galarneau, while St. Dom’s Kyle Welsh led the Saints defense along with JD Hodsdon and Lapointe.


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