By Michael Letendre

BRISTOL – The Bristol Eastern boys soccer program has battled several of the top teams of the CCC this season.

It’s been a tough start but against Edwin O. Smith on Friday afternoon, the Lancers battled the program to a halftime stalemate.

But the Panthers scored a goal late in the fray to eventually topple the Lancers by a 1-0 final from Alumni Field in Bristol.

Smith improved to 3-3-1 overall while the Lancers, so close to a tie, fell to 2-5.

Both sides had chances to notch a goal before the visiting aggression flipped in the game-winning goal against the Kingstreeters.

With 6:14 left in the showdown against the school from Storrs, Nicholas Simpson hit a hard shot from the top of the goal area, zipping the ball into the Lancers’ net to notch the winning tally.

“We battled throughout and just missed some chances,” said Eastern coach Bill Sweet. “It was an evenly played match, other than the goal.  We had three corners in the last five minutes but just couldn’t connect.”

Panthers’ keeper Aiden Dagata made six saves as did Eastern’s Carlos Portillo.   

Over Eastern’s next three matches, the locals will be on the road for stern challenges.

The Lancers travel to Bristol Central on Tuesday for a 5:15 p.m. showdown, the opening bout in a huge BC/BE doubleheader from the turf field at BCHS.