Boys soccer: Lisbon earns crucial early season victory over Mt. Abram

LISBON — Lisbon went defensive for most of the second half to secure a victory over Mountain Valley Conference rival Mt. Abram on Wednesday.

It wasn’t until the final minute that they were confident they’d be walking away with a 2-0 boys soccer win.

“(Mt.) Abram is such a good team — it wasn’t until the last 30 seconds (we would win),” Lisbon goalie Levi Tibbetts said. “There was a chance that they would put two (goals) in.”

The Greyhounds lost all three games to Mt. Abram in the 2021 season (two in the regular season and in the MVC championship game), so, coach Shawn Rhoda said, beating the Roadrunners is a good way to start to the 2022 campaign.

“It’s a big win for this program and a big win for these (players),” Rhoda said. “When we get our schedule, we look when we are playing Mt. Abram, and it’s a big deal for us. It was a good win, hopefully, it will carry us the rest of the year.”

Lisbon (2-0) opened the season with a 5-0 win over Spruce Mountain/Dirigo on Thursday.

Mt. Abram coach Darren Allen said mental mistakes cost the Roadrunners.

“We need to come prepared mentally to play,” Allen said. “We weren’t mentally prepared today. I entrust my players to make decisions on the field, and we made a lot of wrong decisions today on the field. We didn’t take what they gave us — they played a high line and we didn’t get behind (them).”

Tibbetts was a big factor in the Greyhounds’ win, stopping 14 shots to earn a shutout. Most of the shots he faced came early in the first half and the final 10 minutes in the second half.

Lisbon goalie Levi Tibbetts reaches out to grab the ball before Mt. Abram’s Charlie Pye knocks it out of his hand and into the goal during the first half of Wednesday’s soccer match in Lisbon. The goal was not allowed. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

“There wasn’t any hard deflections or anything like that,” Tibbetts said. “Every shot — I am a big tall guy — I knew they were going to hit me low and hard. I just needed to get my body in front of it and do my best not to let (the ball) rebound.”

The Roadrunners (1-1) had the first goal-scoring opportunity in the first half, and it appeared they scored, when it appeared Tibbets lost control of the ball while diving for it and a Mt. Abram player kicked it in the net. However, the referee blew the play dead.

“It’s unfortunate, and sometimes those things happen,” Allen said. “We have to learn and adapt to that and you can’t be negative about it.”

Lisbon’s first chance of the game when Daniel Levesque had a penalty kick with 14 minutes remaining in the first half, but Mt. Abram goalie Trey Reed (four saves) stopped it and then made a save on a rebound shot.

The Greyhounds struck a few minutes later. A kick from the center circle deflected off a Mt. Abram player to Lisbon’s Nicholas Powell, who shot the ball past Reed.

“It kept our energy up and gave us the mindset that we had a chance,” Powell said of scoring the first goal of the game.

Aidan Parker, right, jumps into the arms of Nicholas Powell after Powell scored the first goal of Wednesday’s soccer match against Mt. Abram. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

Lisbon added again early in the second half when a long volley from midfield by defender Bryce Poulin set up Daniel Levesque for a goal that made it 2-0.

With a two-goal cushion, Lisbon began to pack the defensive zone. The Roadrunners had chances, including one when the ball hit the crossbar with less than 10 minutes to play.

“We weren’t very lucky, either, but they had a game plan, and they stuck with it — it worked for them, my hats are off to them,” Allen said.

On another Mt. Abram scoring chance, Lisbon defender Aidan Parker kicked the ball out of play before it crossed the goal line with about six minutes left in the game.

“That gave us a final push for the last couple of minutes in the game,” Tibbetts said of Parker’s play. “I think that’s exactly what we needed.”