Playing from behind in the second half is nothing new for the Pembroke boys soccer team.

Coming back and winning is.

On Friday, Aug. 29, the Spartans did just that. They traveled to Bow for the season opener and served notice to their hosts – and the rest of Class I – by scoring two unanswered goals in the last nine minutes and knocking off the defending state runnerup, 2-1.

“It’s definitely big for us,” said PA coach Pete Bisson. “I mean, we were talking before the game about just coming out, playing properly, and if we do that the goals will come. I’m glad they came because for us, they don’t always come in the most conventional way.”

Bow coach George Pinkham was more to the point.

“You could tell they’re a good, solid team and that they’re going to give teams like ourselves, considered a top-four or top-eight team, a game every time out, and they’re going to win a lot of those games,” said Pinkham, who added most of the perennial favorites in Class I, including Bow, graduated many of their top players last year. “The rest of us are going to fight like hell and scratch, and a team like Pembroke, who has been on the outside looking in for awhile, they’re not going to surprise me at all. I think they’ve got the talent to easily be a top-eight team this year.”

Bisson, who in his first year at the Pembroke helm led the team to five wins, said the program is definitely heading in the right direction.

“We just work, day in and day out, on playing the right type of soccer, on playing knowledgeable and playing fit, but right now we’re just hoping to get into the tournament because we didn’t last year,” said Bisson. “We do have a talented squad, sure, and if they play right, there’s no limit to what they can do.”

Ryan Clark and Pat McCormack, who scored PA’s first two goals of the season, and Brandon Ricker, who assisted on Clark’s tally, are expected to be solid contributors all season.

Sam Harty, who turned away several quality scoring opportunities by Bow, starts in net for the Spartans this season.

Others seeing time on the varsity pitch include Ethan Cote, Doug Turnbull, Caleb Bonanno, John Nardini, Kevin Carbonneau, Bill Bernier, Andy Crowley, Victor Ranfos, Jake Collinge, Alex Derepentigny, Matt Sweeney, Arnold Philippon, Matt Gosselin, Justin McGourty and Pat L’Heureux.