Tag Archives: Matt Friedland

(North Bridgton ME)  Bridgton Academy absorbed a frustrating 2-1 loss on Friday afternoon to the Bowdoin College junior varsity in soccer.

The Wolverines (3-4-3) finally had a home game after eight straight on the road but, even with some of the Parents and Alumni Homecoming Weekend attendees on hand, couldn‘t get a win.

And trust me, it wasn’t from lack of opportunity!

The visitors (1-2) scored early (39:48) and late (1:03) in the first half.  BA’s tally came at 17:53 on a penalty kick in the first half.

In the second half, the Bowdoin JV’s elected to defend rather than take chances trying to get a third goal.

The Polar Bears did have a few long runs in the second half but their mission was to outnumber BA on defense.  And they did a terrific job at it.

Despite the defensive mentality of the Polar Bears, BA was still able to dribble their way into scoring range.  However, GK Jake Muscato had a good look at all of them.

The one time Jake was totally out of position, teammate Cameron deWit got his foot in front of Nico Kaiafas’s open-net attempt.

The Wolverines had no luck getting the ball from one side to the other in front, where a well-directed header could produce a goal.  That was where Bowdoin being so defense-minded paid off and frustrated the home team.

The Bowdoin JV’s were on the attack in the first half.  Matt Friedland registered their first goal after a shot he took caromed right back to him.  Matt’s well-struck shot on the rebound went past BA goalie Colin Ford to his left.

The Wolverines tied the score twenty-two minutes later.  The ever-dangerous Connor Reagan dribbled into the penalty area and was dumped by Brendan Civale.

That foul gave Pat Gass a penalty kick.  The left-footer hit a shot past Jake Muscato on his right tying the score at 1-1.

The game-winner for the Bowdoin JV’s came after BA had really upped the pressure in their scoring end.  Gabe Smith broke free down the right side and got a hard shot off that whistled past Colin Ford with just over a minute left in the half.

As I mentioned earlier, Bowdoin went into a defensive shell in the second half and it worked.  The home team was clever enough with the ball to get into great scoring position but no one could find the finishing touch.

I chose to stand near the goal Bowdoin was defending in the second half.  I have plenty of pictures to prove that there was no shortage of glorious BA chances.  There were corner kicks galore.

Bridgton Academy won three of their first four games and have been 0-3-3 since.  They have scored two goals in their last five games.  Granted, they have faced some strong competition but they have to be able to finish better in the schedule ahead.

BA’s next game will be on October 2nd (4PM) at Phillips Andover.

The Wolverines will get a second opportunity versus the Bowdoin JV’s at Brunswick on October 9th.

A foursome of planes with pontoons on flew over during the first half.  Maybe they were part of the Homecoming celebration?

Nico Kaiafas of Bridgton Academy got a yellow card in the first half for a hard hit along the sidelines.

The foliage around Bridgton Academy is remarkable.

(All of the pictures above and below will enlarge considerably if you click on them.)