HOULTON, Maine — Making their first semifinal appearance under the guidance of coach Caleb Byron, the Houlton boys soccer team was optimistic coming into Saturday’s Class C North contest against George Stevens Academy.
After all, the Shires were ranked fourth in Class C North with a solid 9-4-1 regular season record and were hosting No. 9 George Stevens Academy (8-6 regular season). The visiting Eagles, however, were not about to go quietly and pulled off a dramatic 2-1 upset over the Shires.
“We played a good game, but started out a bit tentatively,” coach Byron said. “The ball was in our two thirds of the field for most of the game with the exception of a few good scoring attempts.”
GSA scored its first goal on a corner kick with 11:36 left in the first half as Eric Taylor-Lash scored. The Shires answered less than a minute later, connecting on several through passes before getting the ball to Jaron Gentle to tie the game.
The Eagles’ Taylor Schildroth scored what proved to be the game-winning goal with four minutes remaining in the game.
Shire goalie AJ. Henderson had nine saves on 12 shots, but had to leave the game in the second half with a head injury. He was able to return to finish out the game. Ben Politte had one save on five shots for the Eagles.
“I think we could have played with more confidence, but the guys played with a lot of heart all season long,” coach Byron said. “Next season we need to build on our strong defense and learn to possess the ball better and create more scoring opportunities, but I’m very proud of the guys and how they played all year. Nobody expected us to be that great and we had a solid run.”
