Springfield rolls past Bellows Falls

Springfield and Bellows Falls both entered play on Monday looking for win No. 1 this season. It was the Cosmos which left with that first win after a 5-0 performance on the road.

Springfield rolls past Bellows Falls By CHRIS DOHERTY | Sep 29, 2015 Photo by: Chris Doherty Springfield’s Matt Veysey (second from left) moves the ball up the field during Monday’s meeting with Bellows Falls. o Bellows Falls’ Chris Doucet (22) gets ahead of the pack in Monday’s game. (Photo by: Chris Doherty) Enlarge... WESTMINSTER — Springfield and Bellows Falls both entered play on Monday looking for win No. 1 this season. It was the Cosmos which left with that first win after a 5-0 performance on the road. “We switched a lot of things up, changed some positions around, changed our formation a little bit and it really came together,” Springfield head coach Derek Graham said. Ian Mattson created a few opportunities for Springfield in the first five minutes of the game, but it took until the ninth minute for Mattson to break through. He found an opening inside the Bellows Falls box and opened the scoring at 1-0. Less than 10 minutes later, Tristian St. Cyr wound up from a long way out on the left side of the field and placed it perfectly under the cross bar to extend the lead to 2-0. The Terriers put six shots on goal in the first half, one midway through the half by Nolen Donovan was nearly in if it weren’t for a full extension from keeper, Andrew Towne to tip the ball off of the cross bar and out. Then in the 38th minute, Simon Bupp — who moved to keeper for BF in the second half — ripped one from just outside the box and Towne dove to his right to make the save. “He’s up on 90 saves this year already, he’s been getting shelled,” Graham said. “It was nice to see him get a clean sheet and earn it.” A minute later, Springfield added its third goal of the first half. St. Cyr took a corner that fell to the feet of Matt Veysey who put it in just before the half. In the second half, Bellows Fall came out looking to take control of the midfield with a 2-6-2 formation and even a 1-6-2 formation after removing a player for receiving a yellow card. It worked in spurts, but Springfield ended up getting 12 shots on goal in the half, leading to two more goals. Veysey netted his second after Cam Harbeson sent him in all alone on a through ball in the 56th minute. Caleb Hunter scored goal No. 5 for the Cosmos in the 74th minute off of another corner kick. “It’s momentum and confidence,” Graham said. “We’ve been getting beat up by some good teams, we came out here and we battled them. They gave us a good fight and now we have some confidence going to our game tomorrow.” That game is at 7 p.m. at Brown Field in Springfield against Mill River. For Bellows Falls, Monday’s game was just its fifth of the season after starting about a month late due to low numbers. Head coach Robert Brooks said the team recruited eight players who had never played soccer before to be able to get a team on the field. “I’m very happy with the way things are going,” he said. “I think we’ve been doing great. I have to concede we started at the very bottom of the curve. To say we’ve made it halfway up the hill would be unfair but we’re definitely progressing forward and I think that’s all that really matters for us this year.” Though the team is 0-5 thus far, it’s not about how the scoreboard looks at the end of the game, it’s about the team growing and learning each game. “It’s game to game at this point and the kids know that,” said Brooks. “The score means nothing to these kids. They’re all here to have fun and to be together, which is perfect. These kids are good people and that’s what keeps soccer going at BF,” he continued. With some of the scores being lopsided, it would be understandable if the team got hostile in some ways. Brooks said that isn’t the case at all with the Terriers. “I’m really lucky, I’ve got a good bunch of kids who really care about each other and who really don’t get down on each other,” he said. Bellows Falls continues its journey on Friday at Black River at 6 p.m.