OAKLAND — The Brunswick boys’ soccer team lost a pair of games to Camden Hills in the regular season.
The Dragons made sure a third setback wouldn’t happen in the Class A North final.
Gus Silverman and Iain Clendening scored 38 seconds apart late in the first half, and No. 5 Brunswick held on from there Wednesday night to edge No. 2 Camden Hills, 2-1, at Messalonskee High.
Brunswick (13-3-1) will face Marshwood in the state championship game Saturday at Massabesic High in Waterboro.
The Windjammers finished 12-4-2.
“We’ve been the bridesmaids a couple of times in these matches in recent years,” said Brunswick Coach Mark Roma, whose team knocked off No. 1 Lewiston in the semifinals and No. 4 Bangor in the quarterfinals. “It’s nice to get a gold medal. We went through No. 4, No. 2 and No. 1. We’ve earned this.”
Silverman scored with 7:31 to go in the first half when he tipped a pass from Banks past Camden Hills goalie Henry Pharris (six saves).
Clendening doubled the lead just 38 seconds later when he converted a penalty kick.
Camden Hills did cut into the deficit in the second half, but couldn’t get the equalizer.
“We’ve scored a lot of goals this year, it’s our biggest strength as a team,” said Camden Hills Coach Ryan Hurley. “I think this is only the second time we’ve been held under three goals. They (Brunswick) played to their strengths and took away ours, hats off to them.”
The Windjammers made things interesting in the second half when Cameron Brown struck a free kick from 25 yards over the head of Brunswick goalie Brady LaForge (four saves). Otherwise, chances were few and far between for the Windjammers.
“I wish I could say more about how great my defense was tonight,” said Roma. “Tommy Labbe led us back there, and Brady makes big saves in big games, as he did tonight. They were awesome.”
Camden Hills was awarded a free kick just outside the box with eight minutes remaining, but LaForge punching the shot away.
“We talked about no matter who got the lead that we weren’t going to let up off the gas at any point in the game,” said Roma. “The boys did that, now they get to play for a state title.”
WINSLOW 2, JOHN BAPST 0: Joey Richards scored in the fifth minute, and Landen Gillis added a second-half goal as the second-seeded Black Raiders (18-0) beat the No. 4 Crusaders (12-4) in the Class B North final at Hampden Academy.
Winslow, which has outscored opponents 102-1, will play Yarmouth in the state championship game Saturday at Massabesic High.
FIELD HOCKEY
SKOWHEGAN 2, OXFORD HILLS 1: Sydalia Savage scored off a penalty corner with 3:52 remaining, and the top-ranked River Hawks (17-0) earned their 20th consecutive regional title with a win over the third-seeded Vikings (11-6) in the Class A North final in Topsham.
Oxford Hills took lead in the first quarter on a goal by Alison Slicer. Layla Conway tied it in the second quarter, and the score remained deadlocked until the final four minutes.
Skowhegan, seeking its 17th state championship since 2001, will play for the title Saturday against Cheverus at Cony High.
OLD TOWN 1, LAWRENCE 0: Logan Gardner converted a penalty corner on the final play of the first half, and the second-seeded Coyotes (13-3) upset the No. 1 Bulldogs (13-1) in the Class B North championship game in Topsham.
The game was scoreless until Old Town was awarded a penalty corner as time expired in the first half. A shot by Madelyn Arsenault was stopped, but Gardner knocked in the rebound.
Lawrence dominated the second half, with a 15-4 edge in penalty corners, but couldn’t break through against goalie Chelsey Cote and Old Town’s defense.
MCI 2, FOXCROFT ACADEMY 0: Second-quarter goals by Ella Bernier and Gracie Moore propelled the top-seeded Huskies (15-1) past the second-seeded Ponies (11-5) in the Class C North final in Topsham.
Bernier put MCI ahead early in the second quarter, redirecting a shot by Moore off a penalty corner.
Less than three minutes later, Moore knocked in the rebound of a Trinity Leavitt shot to make it 2-0.
WINTHROP 8, LISBON 1: Maddy Perkins scored three goals and assisted on three others, and the top-seeded Ramblers (17-0) used a five-goal third quarter to pull away from the sixth-seeded Greyhounds (7-9-1) in the Class C South final at Freeport High.
– Eli Canfield of the Times Record contributed to this roundup
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