ORFORD — Ever Tofel recognized Riley Eastman the first day they arrived as Sharon Academy freshmen. They’d faced each other frequently in middle school soccer, Eastman at Chelsea, Tofel at South Strafford’s Newton School.
Tofel thought they would make a good combination. They have. And they’re looking to keep it going a little longer.
Midfielder Tofel set up both of striker Eastman’s goals on Friday, the latter serving as the overtime game-winner in No. 7 Sharon’s 2-1 defeat of No. 2 Rivendell in a VPA Division IV boys soccer quarterfinal at Community Field. The win delivered to the Phoenix (8-3-1) a semifinal date next week, and it also ended a five-year run of frustration against the Raptors (5-2-2), whose eight-match winning streak against TSA included a D-IV quarterfinal elimination three years ago.
“We hadn’t beaten them for (five) years, but it felt great to beat them,” Tofel said. “We’re fully capable of beating them. We knew we weren’t really a seventh seed; we were really top-three. It felt great to prove that and finally beat them.”
A 2-0 loss to Rivendell last week gave Sharon a measure of confidence entering Friday’s contest. The teams play similar styles, with speed up front and playmaking midfielders capable of setting tempo.
That puts a premium on communication — and fuel. The Phoenix faded late in regulation and was at least one crossbar and one excellent Ben Rodis save from possible elimination.
Sharon coach Blake Fabrikant reminded his squad to raise its energy level as overtime started. The Phoenix got the message.
“We’re missing an ingredient in midfield right now, and you could tell that,” Fabrikant said. “Our energy was low in midfield. … We lack depth. We play in spurts. We play really well in spurts, and then there are other spurts when we take our foot off the gas.”
TSA opened with a 3-5-2 alignment, hoping to employ an extra midfielder to control play. Fabrikant had to sub out starting left back Jaxon Nichols after just five minutes because of a nagging hip injury, but senior Erik Younce meshed nicely with wingbacks Simon North and Caleb Benjamin to keep most of Rivendell’s attacks at a distance.
The Raptors did occupy Rodis (eight saves) in the opening 40 minutes. Senior TSA defender Ian Robertson cleared a Rodis mishandle out of danger in the 18th minute, Rivendell’s Chris Pierce headed off the Sharon crossbar in the 19th minute and the Raptors’ Josiah Welch couldn’t find the net after pulling Rodis out of the penalty area shortly before halftime.
The first half ended with Rivendell netminder Owen Mansur (seven saves) swallowing up an Eastman bid following a give-and-go with Tofel, a sign of things to come.
“You try something, it doesn’t work, and you keep going until you finally find a combination that’s working,” Rivendell coach Kevin Brooker said. “We always move people around and see how it goes.”
Sharon broke the ice in the 53rd minute. After Eastman drew a foul just outside the Rivendell box, Tofel drilled a low line drive of a free kick that Mansur did well to stop at the left post. The rebound found the middle of goalmouth, however, and Eastman punched it home.
The lead lasted just 12 minutes. Catching the Sharon defense napping, Rivendell midfielder Kyle Carter curled a left-wing corner kick into the net, catching a piece of a Phoenix defender’s boot on the way.
Rivendell striker A.J. DeBois drilled a quick-touch 20-yard drive off the crossbar in the 68th minute. Pierce’s 40-yard lob in the 71st went high, leaving Rodis tumbling into the net. The Sharon keeper secured overtime with a diving two-handed denial of DeBois in the 78th.
Tofel served up the winner 11 minutes into overtime. The latter of back-to-back corners found Eastman free in front of the Rivendell net. The junior’s header slammed down off the ground, up off the underside of the bar and across the goal line before a Raptor defender could bat the ball clear.
“When Riley was there, I told him, ‘You got this; I’m going to get it to you,’ ” Tofel said. “On the second one, I put it in and he was there. It felt great.”
Greg Fennell can be reached at gfennell@vnews.com or 603-727-3226.