SCARBOROUGH – Six of the 11 Waynflete players across the field wore souvenirs from the long, hard soccer season. A neoprene ankle brace here, a heavily taped thigh there. A wrist encased in bubble wrap. Another ankle wrap over there. An elaborately taped knee.

But by the final horn Saturday afternoon, the Flyers’ nagging injuries were lost in the warm glow of a golden light.

Senior striker Isabel Agnew scored Waynflete’s second goal in a span of 45 seconds midway through the second half as the Flyers rallied to a dramatic 3-2 victory over Fort Kent in the Class C girls’ soccer state championship game.

“It feels amazing, this has been the seniors’ goal since freshman year,” said midfielder Sadie Cole, who was in eighth grade in 2008 when the Flyers last won the Gold Ball. “I remember that team, and to follow in its footsteps is pretty amazing.”

Her coach agreed.

“These (six) seniors were freshmen when I came in,” said Todd Dominski. “It’s been so satisfying to see them grow as soccer players and to see the team as a whole put in the effort to get here today. To have them win it is even more gratifying.”

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Cole finished a pass from Agnew to give the Flyers (12-2-4) a 1-0 lead about seven minutes in. But Fort Kent fought back for a 2-1 lead before halftime.

Alexis Desjardins made the most of a direct kick from 22 yards, curling a shot into the top right corner .Then Jessica Morin buried a loose ball with 8:47 left.

“We lost (forward Danielle Pelletier) early, she bumped her knee and she’s hard to replace,” said Fort Kent Coach Robby Nadeau. “Both teams worked hard and gave a championship effort.”

Waynflete came out hard in the second half.

“Todd told us this was the state championship game, and we weren’t playing like it. We all agreed with him,” said sophomore keeper Juliana Harwood (eight saves).”

With 21 minutes left, Dominski pushed defender Leigh Fernandez into the midfield to strengthen the attack. The move paid off when Arianna Giguere collected a pass from junior midfielder Walker Foehl and drove in a low, hard shot to tie it at 2 with 20:10 to play.

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That set the stage for Agnew’s goal, which began when a cross from Foehl brought Fort Kent keeper Alexa Pelletier (14 saves) high off her line. The ball bounced free, and Agnew knocked it in with 19:35 left.

Harwood preserved the win with several game-saving saves.

 “We’re a little beat up but everyone plays through it,” said Hardwood, picking at the tape around her right thumb. “We had come this far, we weren’t going to lose.”

 

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