Boys soccer: Late Buckfield goal ends physical game against St. Dom’s

AUBURN — Emotions ran high during Saturday’s boys soccer game between Buckfield and St. Dominic Academy.

A late goal by Seamus Keough gave the Bucks a 2-1 victory in a Class D South contest that featured a second-half altercation between the two teams after the game got chippy.

“St. Dom’s played incredibly hard, and I thought both teams played hard today,” Buckfield coach Kyle Rines said. “We were able to score in that first half, and at halftime, our message was, ‘They are going to come and they are going to be desperate.’ They played extremely hard and, unfortunately, in soccer you do see emotions spill over and things like that. Coach Darine (Gnidehoue) and myself did a good job keeping people composed.”

The victory gives Rines 100 career coaching wins.

Keough, who was playing his first game of the season because he had been recovering from an ACL injury, said he’s happy for his coach’s achievement.

“I have been playing for him for three years,” Keough said, “and to see him finally get this, it’s amazing.”

Gnidehoue said the Saints will learn from the game, things like shooting better, staying cohesive and battling to the end.

“They battled until the end; it’s unfortunate the way it ended,” Gnidehoue said, referring to the final score. “We know what we have to work on from our perspective. The most important thing is to focus on what we can control than things we can’t control.”

Buckfield (8-1) scored the game’s first goal, 24 minutes into the first half. Freshman Krosby Harvey sent a cross into the 18-yard box to senior Justin Lucas, who kept his shot low to beat St. Dom’s goalie Riley Daigle (five saves).

“Harvey to Lucas has been there all year for us,” Rines said. “I believe that’s 12 goals for Justin on the season and Krosby is looking at eight (goals) and six assists now. They do a great job working together and I am going to miss it next year because Justin will be gone.”

St. Dom’s (3-6-1) had a good scoring chance late in the first half when Eddie Cobb sent a long-distance shot that hit the crossbar.

“That’s been the story of the season — we battle and that final pass or that final shot doesn’t go in,” Gnidehoue said. “We need to find a formula for that, really.”

Buckfield goalie Cayden Durgin (10 saves) kept St. Dom’s at bay early in the second half by making two point-blank saves.

St. Dom’s Tim Ouellette sent a free kick from near half field into the box, but the Saints couldn’t get the ball. The Saints had a couple more shots, including one from Ashton Hammond, which went wide. And Ouellette sent a header off a throw over the net.

The Saints finally got the equalizer in the 33rd minute when Cobb blasted a shot past Durgin.

Shortly after the goal, Hammond and Buckfield’s Brayden Jack got into an altercation after Jack fouled Hammond. Other players joined in, and some fans left the sideline, though possibly to diffuse the situation.

However, the referees didn’t hand out any cards or throw anyone out.

“They didn’t see if one guy was at fault,” Rines said. “They couldn’t definitely say one guy should get a card and one guy shouldn’t. I thought maybe it was the right call. It allowed the coaches to talk to the players and make decisions on their own. It also gave us time to talk to our teams to say, ‘Hey, we still have a game to play, and let’s put that behind us.”

Rines did take Jack off the field after the play.

Gnidehoue said things got physical during the dust-up.

“The claim is someone punched my player, which I am going to believe my players,” Gnidehoue said. “The refs did not see that and their goal was going to make it as fair as possible. So, no cards for nobody and calm down the tension. That’s what I was told.”

St. Dominic Academy coach Darine Gnidehoue, right, and Buckfield coach Kyle Rines, left, talk with referee John White after a scuffle between players during the second half of Saturday’s game in Auburn. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

Hammond did get a yellow card earlier in the game for pulling a Buckfield player’s jersey.

The teams got back on the field, and with one minute remaining, Keough found himself all alone. He gathered the ball from a cross by Benjamin Bouraasa and scored the game-winner for the Bucks.

“Earlier in the game, I was playing too fast,” Keough said. “So, I needed to slow it down and it worked out.”

Gnidehoue said offsides should have been called on both Buckfield goals.

“That second one was definitely offsides,” Gnidehoue said. “Again, I try not to focus on what the refs have done or haven’t done. I feel we could have been in better positions to play that ball in case it wasn’t offsides.”

Keough said he was nervous the goal may not count.

The Saints pushed every player besides Daigle to the offensive side of the field to try to force overtime. They put two shots wide of Durgin in the final 60 seconds but weren’t able to even the score.

“It’s heartbreaking because the boys did work hard and we had a lot of opportunities,” Gnidehoue said. “We just couldn’t take advantage of it.”