HOULTON, Maine — Playing a team for the third time in the season sometimes proves challenging. Such was not the case last Tuesday afternoon as the No. 2 Houlton Shiretowners scored early and often en route to a 4-0 shutout over the No. 7 Mattanawcook Academy Lynx in a Class C North girls soccer quarterfinal.
The Shiretowners (13-1-1) faced No. 6 Bucksport (6-6-4) on Friday in a semifinal (See accompanying story). Bucksport advanced via a 2-1 upset over No. 3 Central of Corinth.
The Lynx of Lincoln end their season with a 6-10 record.
Houlton senior Natalie Hill scored two goals, and senior Katie Condon added a goal and two assists. Rebecca Mooers also scored for Houlton, and Mia Hanning had an assist.
The Shiretowners and Lynx met twice during the regular season, with Houlton winning both games (2-0 Sept. 9 at Houlton and 4-0 Oct. 20 in Lincoln).
Houlton coach Tim Tweedie said while it is always tricky facing a team a third time, and especially within the past week, he opted to stay true to his game plan for every opponent and not get caught up in trying new things, at least to start the contest.
“Whenever you face a team three times and you have already beaten them twice, they know what needs to be done differently,” Tweedie said. “Fortunately, for us today, we were able to get some things going early on. We knew [MA] was a good defensive team, so we wanted to spread them out and move the ball.”
Houlton held an 11-3 advantage in shots, while the two squads each had three corner kicks. Emma Hines played the bulk of the game in goal for Houlton before giving way to Hannah Foley with nine minutes to play. The two combined for just two saves. Symone Malburn had eight saves for the Lynx, before exiting the game with an injury late in the contest.
Most of Houlton’s subs were on the field for the final 10 minutes of action.
It was Mooers who opened the scoring as she snagged a ricocheted pass in front of the net by Hanning and was able to beat Malburn with 24:22 remaining in the first half. Condon scored five minutes later with a high arching shot from about 25 yards away that sailed over the goalie.
Hill chipped in her first of two goals with 14:14 to play on a nice through pass by Condon for a 3-0 lead the Shiretowners carried into the halftime break. Midway through the second half, Condon lobbed a pass from midfield to a streaking Hill, who burst past her defender for a one-on-one scoring chance with 17:35 to play giving Houlton the decisive 4-0 lead.
“They [Houlton] are a really tough team,” said Mattanawcook coach Stephanie Dubay. “Tim does a great job with his girls. He always has them ready for just about anything.”
Dubay said she was impressed with the overall depth of the Shiretowners on both ends of the field, but it was Chelsea Gentle who stood out for her the most.
“Gentle is one of the best defenders I have ever seen in high school,” she said. “She is hard to get by in the backfield.”
