HOULTON, Maine — The seconds could not tick off the clock fast enough for Houlton girls soccer coach Tim Tweedie Wednesday evening.
Nursing a two-goal lead against County-rival Madawaska, the top-ranked Shires (13-0-2 overall) decided to play more defensively late in the second half of last Wednesday’s Class C quarterfinal. That game plan paid dividends as Houlton managed to keep the visiting Owls out of the net in the final 10 minutes of action to pick up a 4-2 victory.
With the win Houlton advanced to Friday’s semifinal round where it beat No. 5 George Stevens Academy (10-6) 2-0 (see accompanying story). Madawaska, the No. 8 seed in Eastern Class C, ends its season with a 9-6-1 record.
Played under a constant, steady rain, Houlton received a pair of goals from senior Emily Mooers and freshman Kolleen Bouchard to secure the win. Mia Hanning had two assists for the Shires, while Claire Gilpatrick added one.
Sam Boucher and Aspen Cote each scored a goal for the Owls. Cote’s goal came on a penalty kick with 11:59 remaining in the game.
“Madawaska gave us everything and then some,” coach Tweedie said. “I feel they are not really a No. 8 seed. They are one of the top five teams in the region. They are a well-coached club.”
Houlton goalie Katie Condon made seven saves on 10 Madawaska shots. Owl keeper Alexis Levesque stopped 12 of 16 shots. The Shires held a commanding 7-0 advantage in corner kicks.
“We felt confident coming in, but we made a couple of mistakes defensively and it cost us early,” Madawaska coach Dan Cyr said. “Our game is working off our defenders and attacking quickly. We tried to tighten up our defense, because up at our place, we were spread out a little bit too much. Today, we were little bit tighter, but Houlton just has some real good players. They work very well together.”
After Bouchard scored her second goal with 19:17 to play, which gave Houlton a 3-1 lead, coach Tweedie switched things up a bit by moving Mooers to a more defensive role.
“We went a little bit more defensively, mostly because of these (weather) conditions,” Tweedie said. “One bad touch could have put some more (Madawaska) balls in the back of the net. I had enough faith in my forwards that if I leave them up front we could still score.”
