NORTH BERWICK – Steph Needham describes herself as an aggressive goalie, and her team needed all the intensity she could muster Wednesday night.

Needham made 16 saves — one on a breakaway with 30 seconds left — to give Noble a 2-1 victory against South Portland in a Southern Maine Activities Association schoolgirl soccer game.

“She’s our backbone back there,” Noble Coach Rodney Brown said. “She won this game for us tonight.”

Needham made two amazing saves in the second half. The first came with about 25 minutes remaining when Danielle DiBiase volleyed a ball in the box right into Needham’s shins. Then Emily Masters slipped in behind the defense in the final minute.

“I saw the fast break coming,” Needham said. “She kicked (the ball) out a little too far. I ran out and got the ball.”

Last year, Needham was an SMAA honorable mention. She hopes to play at the University of New England next year.

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The Red Riots (1-1), who held a 17-8 edge in shots on goal, scored first.

The goal came on the first corner kick of the game when Masters sent a perfect cross into the middle of the Knights’ penalty box, where Jenna Wing scored on a header after six minutes.

Noble (1-1) tied it less than 10 minutes later.

Keely Trubold got the play going when she collected a pass on the left side of the South Portland box.

She crossed the ball back the other way to Justina Shorey, who beat Red Riots goalie Andrea Kinder (6 saves) to the ball and one-timed a shot with 26:46 left in the first half.

The Knights carried that momentum into the second half, scoring the go-ahead goal less than six minutes in.

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The play started on the right wing with a nice run by Nicole Lanoie.

She carried the ball to the corner and sent a long cross to Olivia McDermith in the center of the South Portland box.

McDermith, who said her role last year with the Knights was to set people up, showed she also has a good finishing touch when she settled the cross from Lanoie and tapped the shot in for the 2-1 advantage with 34:37 left to play.

It was her first goal as a varsity player.

“I was just thinking I’ve got to volley it in,” said McDermith, a sophomore. “It was wicked exciting.”

The game wasn’t close to being over, and South Portland made it exciting.

DiBiase and Masters were both stopped by Needham at point-blank range, and DiBiase also hit the crossbar with a shot from about 20 yards with 18:30 remaining.

 


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