NEWCASTLE — Camden Hills was pushed by Messalonskee, but prevailed 4-3 in the Class A North girls’ soccer regional final Wednesday afternoon at Lincoln Academy.
Top-seeded Camden Hills (17-0) will go for its third straight state title at 10 a.m. Saturday, taking on Scarborough at McMann Field in Bath.
Camden Hills took the lead for good with 1:43 to play in the game when Kris Kelly took a Kaylyn Krul pass in the middle of the box and fired a low shot to the middle of the net. The Windjammers held off one final push by the Eagles (15-2) to clinch the win.
“It doesn’t get any more exciting than that, in terms of intensity. We haven’t had that many intense matches this season, so this is fantastic for us,” Camden Hills Coach Meredith Messer said.
The Eagles lost twice this season to Camden Hills, falling by three goals in the opener in late August.
Messer was impressed by Messalonskee after the opener.
“You could really tell defensively and in the midfield they were going to be really solid. They hadn’t quite figured out the attacking piece yet,” Messer said. “Boy, did they figure that out.”
Trailing 1-0 at the half, Messalonskee tied the game on Anika Elias’ goal 42 seconds into the second half. A few minutes later, the Eagles took the lead on a long shot to the upper-left corner by Elias at 35:25. It marked the first time all season the Windjammers trailed, Messer said.
“I just told them all, ‘We have the team to do this.’ We just had to settle down,” Messalonskee Coach Chris DelGiudice said. “There was a little jitters in that first half. We didn’t really play the style we’re used to. I just told them, ‘Relax. It’s just another game.'”
Camden Hills tied the game at 26:38 when Ella Pierce scored on a shot from the left to the right corner. The Windjammers regained the lead at 19:41 on Eliza Roy’s goal.
“I just showed them our shooting chart at halftime. I said ‘This is where our space is. We need to find that space.’ And we did. Be patient. You have what we need,” Messer said.
DelGiudice said he liked his team’s composure throughout the game, and that showed with the Eagles’ response to Roy’s goal. It took Messalonskee 12 seconds to answer, and Camdyn Lamarre tied the game at 3-3 at 19:29, with an assist from Shauna Clark.
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