AUBURN — Coach Dave Morin can’t say he’s seen many soccer games like he did Tuesday.

His Edward Little boys’ soccer team had an uphill battle against Erskine Academy and ended up on the short end of a 2-1 game.

The Red Eddies not only had the challenge of playing after a tough loss to Mt. Ararat Monday but were also shorthanded after their goalie was ejected in the first half.

“We played such an incredible game (Monday) with such spirit and determination,” said Morin, whose team lost to Mt. Ararat 1-0. “(Tuesday) the game just had no flow to it. It was choppy. It was chaotic. I’ve coached for a long time and it’s something I’ve never seen. It was just a horrible game.”

EL played lackluster for much of the game. The Red Eddies came to life after falling behind on a penalty kick that followed the goalie’s ejection. EL tied it but fell behind again in the second half. The Red Eddies tried to mount a comeback but couldn’t produce the tying goal.

“We played with whatever spirit we had, but we just didn’t have that extra step,” said Morin, whose club has lost four straight.

Erskine (3-2-2) and EL (1-4-1) were ranked eighth and ninth respectively in the latest Eastern A standings. So it was a valuable game for both teams.

“Both teams are coming in here desperate,” said Erskine coach Phil Hubbard. “This is our only crossover game. We know them, and they know us pretty well. We knew how big this was. A win helps us because we get crossover points that we’d never get.”

Neither team could get much going early in the game. Things changed dramatically on a corner kick late in the half. That’s when EL keeper Jeremy Hamm was red-carded for unsportsmanlike conduct.

It proved costly for EL. Not only did Erskine get a penalty kick out of it, but the Red Eddies were left to play down a man the rest of the way. Hamm will also be suspended for EL’s next game against Waterville on Friday.

Senior Ben Bowles was rushed into action to face the penalty kick. Darrell St. Jean scored on a low shot that eluded the diving Bowles for a 1-0 lead with 11:40 left in the half.

That was the spark EL needed, and the Red Eddies came to life to finish the half. Off a corner kick, a loose ball came out to Adam Timberlake, who blasted it in past defenders for the equalizer with 2:49 left.

“They picked it up,” said Hubbard. “That was the fuel in the fire that gave them the energy plug because they didn’t like how the dynamics happened. That would make any team come out fired up.”

Erskine came out strong to start the second half. Taking advantage of a shorthanded EL team, the Eagles were able to possess the ball and set up opportunities. Damon Bailey had a header that hit the post in the first 10 minutes.

“We were playing one guy up top and now we were playing two guys up top,” said Hubbard, who wanted to use some speed up front to create some havoc. “That helped us stretch it out more.”

Erskine caught EL up field and had a two-on-one break. Bailey put a shot on but Bowles made a splendid diving save.  EL defender Ethan Polisky blocked a shot by Sean Cabaniss and tried to clear it away from the open goal. It was ruled that Cabaniss’ shot cross the goal line with 25:44 left.

“Everybody said it was halfway over the line, if that’s the call, it’s the call,” said Morin. “You have to move on.”

EL tried to rally and had a couple of chances in the final minutes. Nate Blais had a pair of shots that were saved. The Red Eddies just couldn’t create consistent chances against a clogged up middle and struggled to move the ball to the corners.

“They were settled in the middle of the field, and we weren’t going to be able to go up the middle on them,” said Morin. “We got caught up there, and we all drifted to the middle of the field.”

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