PORTLAND – Emily Lane scored the only goal of the first half and fed Kara Singleton for the winner with 24 seconds left in the first overtime as Sacopee Valley edged Waynflete 2-1 in Western Maine Conference Class C girls’ soccer Wednesday.
The Flyers kept the ball in the Hawks’ end for most of the second half, pressing for the tying goal.
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“We definitely pulled back after we got the lead,” Sacopee Valley Coach Kevin Murphy said. “We’re nursing some injuries and a number of the girls are at less than 100 percent.
“My No. 1 kudo for the game goes to our sweeper, Catherine Murch, who twice had to come out to get her ankle retaped to keep going.
“And I thought our keeper Courtney Ross was phenomenal. We’re very solid defensively, and we had to be because they’re a very good offensive team.”
Waynflete (2-2) had seven corner kicks to none for the Hawks (5-1) and hit the crossbar twice before finally converting the last corner with 7:33 left in regulation.
Junior standout Becky Smith took it from the right and sent a waist-high ball into the crease where Sadie Cole one-timed it inside the near post for the tie.
After Ross stopped a hard, 25-yard direct kick from Smith two minutes later to preserve the tie, the teams played on even terms in the first five-minute overtime until Lane collected a loose ball near midfield and sent it ahead to Singleton breaking down the left side.
Singleton got behind the defense and nailed the far right corner from 15 yards for the win.
“I just went for the low corner and it worked,” said Singleton.
Lane’s goal at 30:26 of the first half came on a nearly identical opportunity, as Maeve Downey, from her side of midfield, sent a through ball into the Flyers’ end.
Lane got to it first and outraced her defender to go in alone on keeper Emma Longcope. From just outside the crease, Lane ripped a high shot just over Longcope’s hands. The ball hit the underside of the crossbar and bounced over the line.
“I was nervous going in, ” said Lane, “and when it hit the crossbar, I thought it was coming out. But when it bounced over the line, the main thing I felt was relief.”
“After that, we just had to play smart defense,” said Murch. “This is the first time the Sacopee girls have ever beaten Waynflete, and a lot of the scores have been like 10-0.”
Flyers Coach Todd Dominski, whose team had a golden opportunity in the first minute when Ella Millard sent Elizabeth Berrang in all alone off the opening faceoff only to have Ross make a sliding, point-blank save, said: “It’s all about finishing plays and putting the ball in the net, and I told the kids at halftime to relax and just play the game.
“Both teams worked very hard and it was a tough loss, but we still have plenty of games left.”
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