YARMOUTH — Angel Huntsman and her North Yarmouth Academy teammates had something to prove when they hosted rival Yarmouth in a girls’ soccer match Thursday afternoon.

The Panthers made quite a statement – beating Yarmouth for the first time in program history, and doing so decisively.

Huntsman set up the first goal and scored the second, and NYA, the three-time reigning Class D state champion, went on to a historic 4-1 victory.

“I had a chip on my shoulder,” said Huntsman. “I’m mad that they’re Class B and we’re Class D and I played mad. Every year we’ve played Yarmouth, it’s always been close. Senior year, I wanted to beat them, and it feels great.”

The Panthers (5-0) created great chances early, and only a defensive save from Yarmouth’s Nori Schneider on a shot from Huntsman off a corner kick kept the game scoreless.

Then, in the 14th minute, Huntsman played a long ball ahead to Anna Belleau, who got to it just ahead of Clippers goalkeeper Regan Sullivan (four saves) and flicked it into the net.

“We came out hyped,” said Belleau. “Angel set me up. It was big to get that early lead.”

Huntsman added to the lead seven minutes later, weaving through multiple defenders before blasting a shot past Sullivan.

Yarmouth (4-2) got a goal back in the 27th minute when Ava Feeley’s shot eluded NYA goalkeeper Sarah Moore (13 saves). But just 23 seconds later, Hayden Wienckowski set up Leah Dube to make it 3-1.

“It was a team effort,” Dube said. “Hayden tapped it out to me and I had the opportunity. I was thinking I better make it so my teammates wouldn’t be mad at me.”

“We got a couple ahead and when they got their goal, the big thing was we got one right back,” added NYA Coach Ricky Doyon.

NYA didn’t sit on the lead, and with 26:43 to play, Emily Robbins buried a free kick from just beyond the box, sailing a high blast over the outstretched hand of Sullivan.

“At halftime, Coach just wanted us to act like it was 0-0 and we knew they could come back,” said Robbins. “I was afraid I was going to miss, but I took a second and kicked the ball in.”

When it was over, the Panthers celebrated one of the biggest regular-season victories in program history.

“It’s awesome, it really is,” said Doyon. “The girls played really well today against an excellent team. We got some good bounces and we took advantage of our opportunities.

“We were fired up for this game. I could see when the girls were warming up that it would be a good game.”

Yarmouth Coach Andy Higgins was ill and had to miss the contest.