HOULTON, Maine — Home field proved advantageous for the Houlton girls soccer team Friday as the Shires beat the one team they had lost to thus far on the year.
Houlton earned a 2-1 victory over Orono after the Red Riots beat the Shires by the same score earlier this season. That loss marked the end of a 26 regular-season win streak for Houlton that dated back to Sept. 21, 2013.
Houlton improved to 8-1, while Orono dropped to 8-1-1 on the year. Orono remained the top seed in the Class C North region just ahead of the Shires in the Maine Principals’ Association Heal Points standings.
In Friday’s game, Shires Claire Gilpatrick and Tyra Gentle each scored goals to lead the team to victory.
“Going into the game, we decided that we wanted to try to generate a little more of an offensive attack against Orono, so we moved All-State defensive player, Chelsea Gentle, up to midfield in the first half,” said Houlton coach Tim Tweedie. “It was a gamble that fortunately paid off. While Chelsea did officially factor into either goal, she put a ton of pressure on Orono’s backs the entire first half and really helped us control the field for chunks of the first 40 minutes.”
Claire Gilpatrick scored at the 21:17 mark of the first half off a corner kick by Natalie Hill, who sent a perfect ball into the box. “It went right over the outstretched arms of Katelyn Richards (Orono’s keeper) and Claire was right where she was supposed to be on the back post to put it in,” Tweedie said. “Claire getting us on board first gave us a huge boost and a ton of confidence.”
Orono answered 6:00 later when Brinsley Chasse took a pass just inside the 18 yard box from Norwegian exchange student, Aashild Fridtun, and put it in the back of the net.
With 2:00 minutes left in the opening half, the Shires had another corner kick and once again, Hill delivered a perfect ball. “Natalie sent a great ball into the box and this time, it was Tyra Gentle in the right place,” Tweedie said. “With a scrum in front of the goal, Tyra came up with the ball and slid it into the back of the net to give us the 2-1 going into the half. To this point, that has been our most import goal of the season because it allowed for us to make some halftime adjustments.”
Leading 2-1 at the halftime break, Tweedie met with assistant coaches Cliff Urquhart and Jason Gilpatrick and the trio decided to try to protect the team’s one goal lead.
“We have a ton of ability in our girls to be able to play defense, so we decided at that point that we wanted to become a little bit more defensive,” the coach said. “Along with Chelsea, Evelyn Pratt, Mackenzie Hunt, Aspen Flewelling, and Lexi Miller have been tremendous defensively all season long. Earlier this season, we went through a three game stretch where we didn’t allow a single shot on goal, so we had the confidence in our backs to do what they needed to to protect the lead.
After having already moved Gentle, midway through the second half, the Shires also took Hill from her position as striker and moved her to a midfielder, a position she played last year. “This really hindered our ability to attack like we did in the first half, but, it also made it very difficult for Orono to get good looks,” Tweedie said.
Perhaps the biggest key of the game, however, was another late adjustment. With 10 minutes left to play, the Shires decided to put Katie Condon back in the goal for the first time this season and the results paid dividends.
“Katie had played hard for 70 minutes and while Emma Hines (the team’s regular goalie) had played a tremendous game — maybe the best I’d ever seen her play — we knew her fresh legs on the field could help us in the final 10 minutes,” Tweedie said. “We also know how good of a goalie Katie is, so it was actually an easy decision. Emma used to play in the field and Katie used to play in the goal, so we knew going into the game that this could happen if we had a late lead. It’s something we’ve talked about since the beginning of the season.”
With 6 minutes left, with Orono on the attack, Fridtun hit a shot that appeared to be destined for the upper left hand corner of the goal, but Condon somehow managed to punch it out to preserve the lead.
“I don’t think there’s another goalie north of Bangor that makes that save,” Tweedie said. “It was incredible. We’re extremely blessed to have such solid goalkeeping, yet each of them are so different. Emma is very quick and athletic, so there are low shots she gets to that nobody else would. At the same time, Katie is the most natural goalie that I’ve ever seen. I have no doubt that she could be an incredibly successful collegiate goalkeeper if she wants to.”
The Shires gamble paid off, as the team shutout Orono in the second half for the victory.
“Sometimes when you gamble by moving too many people around, you end up looking like a fool,” Tweedie said. “This happened to be a game where it all worked out in our favor. We were able to get the win and to knock them from the ranks of the undefeated. We’ve now given ourselves a chance to go # 1, which could prove to be key in the playoffs. It was a great game.”
