By Michael Letendre

BRISTOL – Never count out the Bristol Eastern boys soccer program.

And after two one-goal losses, the Lancers finally got back to the pay window on Friday.

Eastern scored a goal in each of the first and second periods to stave off Plainville, netting an impressive 2-1 victory from Alumni Field in Bristol.

The Lancers improved to 3-9-1 overall while the Blue Devils fell to 7-6 – breaking a two-match winning streak.

Eastern got on the scoreboard with 1:48 left in the first half as Dom Femiak converted a Cody Greger to Adam Borry combination, leading to a through ball that Femiak controlled and hit into the right near inside of the Plainville net for a goal.

Eastern the doubled the Plainville deficit about five minutes into the second half as Eddie Ansah took in a Rocco Barbino pass, beating two defenders down the right side of the field. 

Ansah then turned the corner and sent a pass into the Blue Devils’ goal area where Adam Borry drilled a hard shot by Plainville Keeper Joshua Elliotte as Eastern’s 2-0 lead would be too much for the visiting aggression to handle.   

Plainville’s Trevor Rau scored a goal, chopping the deficit in half with 3:07 to go but the Kingstreeters ran out the clock – moving the ball down Plainville’s flanks – and never let the Blue Devils notch a game-tying score to seal the victory.

“Dylan Piazza led our backs, Connor Cyr, Preston Guarda, and Carter Harris, in a coordinated effort that stymied the dangerous Plainville attack,” said Eastern coach Bill Sweet. “Our midfielders, Ty Borry, Andre Gonzalez, and Donyell Maxwell, supported the backs and linked well with our attackers.”

Eastern keeper Carlos Portillo made eight saves as did Elliotte from Plainville. 

NOTES…Eastern has three tough matches left this season with the final two coming from home at Alumni Field in Bristol…The Lancers travel to Glastonbury on Monday for a 3:45 p.m. contest as the squad has not lost over its last four matches (3-0-1)…Eastern ends its regular season with contests against Wethersfield (October 28, 6 p.m.) and Bristol Central (November 2, 7 p.m.) in a boys/girls city series double-dip…The win against the Blue Devils was the first victory for the Lancers since roping up 4-0 win over Platt in Meriden back on September 24 (on the CIAC website, it says Eastern defeated Platt 54-0 that day. That would have been something to see…).