By Michael Letendre
BRISTOL – Bristol Eastern boys soccer forward Eddie Ansah’s play up front is just one of the reasons while the program has come out of the gates on fire this year.
And in a 1-1 stalemate against East Catholic on Friday afternoon, Ansah tallied yet another goal to change the outcome of the match.
His game-winning shot late in the match propelled the Lancers to a 2-1 triumph over the Eagles in a CCC interdivisional bout from Alumni Field in Bristol.
Catholic (0-4-1) hardly played like a winless squad and with four minutes to go, the showdown was still tied before Ansah made his move just seconds later.
Ansah splashed in a late goal to make it a 2-1 game and with just around 220 seconds remaining in the match, it was too late for the Eagles to draw even.
The Kingstreeters are now 3-1 on the year.
Catholic took the lead in the first half with 26:38 left as Matthew Mortello knocked home a corner kick, making it a 1-0 game.
But the visiting aggression did not notch a follow up score.
Eastern controlled much of the play until the goal, and for the next ten minutes, much of the play was around midfield.
That back and forth didn’t last as Eastern began to assert more pressure on the East Catholic backs.
And with 10:34 remaining in the first half, Eastern’s Liam Sanchez-Barreto took a through ball from Lucas Tylicki – jamming in a twenty-yard shot into the upper corner of East Catholic’s net to tie the game at 1-1.
“We won a lot of balls and got near East Catholic’s final third in the first half,” said Eastern coach Bill Sweet. “However, we were not on the same page offensively and failed to find open players, except for the goal. Assistant Coach Bunty Ray had a strong message at half time and the players responded in the second half.”
And you know how those halftime speeches by Ray usually hit home and fuel the Lancers to start second half action.
In the second half, Eastern found the flanks often, and several strong runs and crossing passes from Hunter Scott just missed leading to goals as the tie continued into the later portions of the showdown.
East Catholic goalie Justin Abbamonte was sharp, shutting down two breakaways and snaring away attempted scoring bids.
With about fifteen minutes to go, Eastern’s Rocco Barbino’s shot was saved, a Ledio Thanasi attempt just went wide, and a minute later, even the post saved a goal as Catholic was under fire.
The Lancers kept the pressure up, especially with Sam LaMar and Rio Fernandez winning a lot of East Catholic’s clearances at midfield as the tide was about to turn.
Then with 3:40 remaining, Sanchez-Barreto found Ansah breaking on the right side of the pitch.
Ansah beat two men and hit a hard shot just inside the near post for the game-winner, making it 2-1.
Abbamonte had 11 tough saves while Peyton Cummings, who has been a rock for Eastern at the net, made four stops to earn his third victory of the season.
Eastern has two exciting matches this coming week as the program hopes to keep up its winning ways.
On Tuesday, the Lancers travel to Meriden for a 3:45 p.m. date against Platt.
The Panthers are currently 2-3 overall and Eastern returns home on Thursday for a 6 p.m. contest against Berlin.
The Redcoats are having a quality year and start the week off at 2-1-1.
Bristol Eastern Boys Soccer – CCC Interdivisional Showdown
BRISTOL EASTERN 2, EAST CATHOLIC 1
from Alumni Field, Bristol
Scoring 1 2 – F
East Catholic (0-4-1) 1 0 – 1
Bristol Eastern (2-1) 1 1 – 2
Individual Scoring – First Half
– Matthew Mortello (East Catholic)
– Liam Sanchez-Barreto (Bristol Eastern)
Individual Scoring – Second Half
– Eddie Ansah (Bristol Eastern)
Saves: Justin Abbamonte (east Catholic), 11; Peyton Cummings (Bristol Eastern), 4.
Records: Bristol Eastern 3-1 overall; East Catholic 0-4-1.
