HODGDON, Maine — In the playoffs, season records and team rankings mean little as just about anything can happen.
Such was the case Thursday afternoon as the No. 11 Wisdom Pioneers rallied from a 1-0 halftime deficit to pull off a dramatic 4-1 victory over No. 6 Hodgdon in a Class D preliminary playoff.
With the victory, the Pioneers (7-6-2 overall) must now travel to No. 3 Madawaska (10-4) for a Wednesday, 4 p.m. quarterfinal game. Madawaska twice beat Wisdom during the regular season — 8-0 at Madawaska and 6-2 at Wisdom.
In Friday’s prelim game, Stephanie Bougoria booted in four unanswered goals in the second half for the Pioneers. Bailey Bellefleur notched two assists and goalie Alyssa Banville had one.
Sidney Crane scored Hodgdon’s lone goal on a header just two minutes into the game on a nifty crossing pass from Jill Gough.
“Wisdom certainly didn’t hang their heads after the first half,” Hodgdon coach Sarah Williams said. “They came out aggressive in the second half. I think we did too, but Wisdom just outplayed us in the second half.”
Wisdom coach Brandon Lavoie said he tried his best to settle his team down during his halftime chat. His words paid dividends as the team came out renewed in the second half.
“I told the girls that we were still in this game as we were down just one goal,” Lavoie said. “We just needed to pick up the pace. These kids knew what needed to be done because they have done it plenty of times before.”
Hodgdon’s soccer field is also the baseball field, and therefore one half of the field is covered in dirt, which required both teams to adjust their games. All five goals scored in the contest game on the grass-half of the field.
“The girls said the dirt made for a much faster field, with the ball taking off much quicker than on the grass,” Lavoie said.
The Pioneers answered the bell in the second half, dominating play. Bougoria tied the game with with 18:59, and struck again two minutes later for what turned out to be the game-winner. She scored her third goal with 10:07 to play as she took a long kick from the goalie and took it the distance. Her final goal came with 4:31 to play.
Banville had 19 saves on 26 shots, while Hodgdon goalie Jessica Drew made 17 saves on 33 shots. Hodgdon held a commanding 9-4 advantage in corner kicks, but was unable to convert on those chances.
