After battling to two stalemates during the regular season, and a scoreless first half in Wednesday’s Class C North championship, all signs pointed to another overtime battle between No. 1 Orono and No. 2 Houlton.
“We had a feeling it was going to be a one-goal game, and it was,” Houlton coach Tim Tweedie said. “It was just a great game. Both teams came out fast and hard in the first half and I think we both wore down in the second since neither of us went very deep [to the bench].”
Orono’s Brinsley Chasse started the scoring four minutes into the second half as she took a pass from Becky Lopez-Anido for a 1-0 lead. That lead was short-lived, however, as Houlton’s Kolleen Bouchard evened the game at 1-1 with 32:14 to play. Bouchard converted a penalty kick after Orono was flagged for a handball inside the scoring area.
Six minutes later Orono (13-1-3) struck again, this time with a rocket of a goal from Lopez-Anido from the top of the penalty area. The goal stood up as coach Cid Dyjak’s team advanced to the state championship game, and a chance to defend their state championship crown, with a 2-1 victory over the Shiretowners (13-2-2).
After a first half that saw very few scoring chances, both teams turned it up a few notches as all three goals were scored in a span of about 10 minutes.
“I think coming out of the first half, we knew we had to step it up,” said Lopez-Anido.
The first 40 minutes’ best scoring chance came from Orono’s Brinsley Chasse, but Houlton goalkeeper Aspen Flewelling (eight saves) came off her line to thwart Chasse’s chance down the middle.
The Shires ramped up their own energy after Lopez-Anido’s goal, especially in the final four minutes as Houlton put on offensive surge in the hopes of tying the game. With about eight minutes to play, coach Tweedie pulled Flewelling from the goal and converted her to midfield. Senior Hannah Foley came in to close out the game in goal for the Shires.
“We didn’t want to make the move too early, because we had been playing well offensively, but we knew she would be fresh and could do some things for us on offense,” the coach said. “At that point, we knew we had to move some players forward and it almost paid off.”
Richards made a point-blank save on Sierra Hoops with 18:10 left, knocked a Flewelling direct kick just over the crossbar with 2:28 to go and withstood several scoring opportunities, and collisions with Mia Hanning late in the game. Hanning nearly delivered the game-tying goal late in the game on a crossing shot from about five yards away that just missed wide of the goal post.
“We ended up with some good looks, a couple that I thought were going to go,” Tweedie said. “Once they got that second one, we just couldn’t get the equalizer.”
Orono finished with a 12-7 edge in shots, but Houlton maintained a 5-1 advantage in corner kicks. Flewelling had 16 saves on 18 shots for Houlton, while Richards had five saves on six shots for Orono.
Members of the Houlton squad include seniors Mackenzie Hunt, Emma Peterson, Chloe Davis, Morgan Grant and Hannah Foley; juniors Kolleen Bouchard, Mia Hanning, Aspen Flewelling, Tyra Gentle, Alexis Miller, Claire Gilpatrick, Anessa Wilde, Rebecca Mooers and Carolyn Mooers; sophomores Jamie Brown and Tessa Solomon; and freshmen Amelia Ivey, Sierra Hoops and Samantha Condon.
