HAMPDEN – Sarah Martens scored 90 seconds into the second overtime to lift Scarborough to a 2-1 win against Bangor in the Class A girls’ soccer championship game Saturday afternoon.
It was the second time in three seasons the Red Storm had to get past the Rams to claim the crown.
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In 2010, Scarborough rolled to a 3-0 victory in the state final.
Last fall, Bangor cruised to a 4-0 win against the Red Storm to claim its first state title.
“It’s a tough one to take,” Bangor Coach Joe Johnson said. “They’re a very good team. We played them straight up and we had a couple of chances to win early in that first overtime. Unfortunately, they didn’t go in.”
“It was back and forth,” Scarborough Coach Mike Farley said. “Easily, it could have gone either way.
“I applaud (Bangor). It was a really even game, but it was physical for a girls’ game. Both teams really wanted to win the game.”
Martens brought a sudden end to the contest by scoring her 20th goal of the season, a school record. She put in a shot from 15 yards.
“I just saw the play that was developing,” she said. “I knew Jess (Meader) was going to make that run and I saw (the ball) go through and I ran on to it. I looked up and saw where the goalie was and I just tried to put it into the corner.”
Libby Huber put in a rebound to send Bangor into the lead 71 seconds into the second half. Sydney Martin made the initial save on Jordan Seekins’ corner kick from the left side, but Huber, who was standing just outside the goalie box with her back to the frame, flipped the ball under the crossbar for the goal.
Less than three minutes later, Meader tied the score when keeper Cordelia Stewart was unable to hold on to her shot from the left side.
“Our coach says any opportunity we get, any free kick, just go after the ball,” she said. “When the goalie dropped the ball, I ran in and kicked it in.”
Bangor (16-2) held a 24-20 edge in shots during the nearly 97 minutes of competition.
Martin made eight saves, and Stewart was credited with 11 saves.
“There weren’t many chances at all,” said Martens, who scored the winning goal in all four of Scarborough’s postseason wins. “They had a real good physical defense and it was really hard to get through them.”
Farley said it was the toughest game of the season for the Red Storm (16-1-1).
“I thought Bangor played so hard and so well, and our kids just tried to match that,” he said.
“It was a great test for us. We haven’t been tested like that in any game. It could have gone either way.”
At the end of the scoreless first half, each team had taken eight shots, and both goalies had each made three saves.
“The key was just staying with it,” Farley said. “To be honest, at the beginning of overtime, we were fortunate that the game kept going on. They had two great chances right off the whistle, and we’re lucky they didn’t go in.”
Staff Writer Paul Betit can be contacted at 791-6424 or at:
pbetit@pressherald.com
Twitter: PaulBetitPPH
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