Girls soccer: Sacopee Valley ends Waynflete’s two-year reign in Class C and advances to the regional final.
It was a game of firsts for Sacopee Valley, and it created memories that certainly will last.
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With three minutes to go in the first half Friday afternoon, Courtney Ryan drove the Hawks’ first corner kick of the game – and the first of her career – into Waynflete’s 18-yard box. Teammate Olivia Ridley knocked the ball in for the first goal of the game.
Sacopee Valley held on for the next 43 minutes to defeat two-time defending state champion Waynflete 1-0 in a Western Class C girls’ soccer semifinal at Fore River Fields.
Sacopee Valley (10-2-3), the No. 7 seed, moves on the regional final Wednesday against No. 5 Maranacook. The No. 6 Flyers close the season at 8-2-5.
“I haven’t been able to beat this team in four years,” senior back Olivia Ruhlin said. “I don’t think words can describe it, beating a team that you’ve been competing against for that long.”
It was a physical game between two teams that were evenly matched. The Hawks and Flyers tied twice in the regular season, 2-2 and 1-1.
“They’re definitely the champs, (the Flyers) left everything on the field,” Sacopee Valley Coach Kevin Murphy said. “We had to win the 50-50s. We did that in the first half and it helped us.”
As did the Hawks’ practice on set plays.
“That’s actually the first corner I’ve taken in my life,” Ryan said. “We have this short play (but it never developed), so I pretty much just crossed it. McKenzie Murphy kept it alive and then Olivia (Ridley) was there to tap it in.”
The goal was extra sweet for Ridley, who missed the 2013 regional final, a 1-0 loss to Waynflete, because of a knee injury.
“To be on the field for this one feels pretty good,” said Ridley.
Sacopee Valley ended up with a 15-10 advantage in shots, but Waynflete had the edge in shots on goal (7-6) and corner kicks (8-2). Waynflete keeper Julianna Harwood made six saves.
Waynflete’s best opportunity of the first half came on a left-swinging corner kick in the 24th minute. Center back Isabel Canning sent in a low cross to the near post, and Helen Gray-Bauer sprang loose and drove a 15-yard shot on goal. Keeper Madison Day (five saves) blocked it, then the rebound rattled around in a scrum and was sent wide.
Gray-Bauer looked like she was going to tie it four minutes into the second half when she and Day raced for a loose ball. They collided and rolled, but Day held tight.
“Getting that goal when we did kept us alive,” back Jade Jordan said. “It helped keep our energy up.”
Energy is what the Hawks needed to withstand Waynflete’s shift to three forwards with 20 minutes to go.
“We had three in the back, so it was man to man,” Jordan said. “That was dangerous because if one got beat, it created a three-on-two. We scrambled a few times.”
“Both teams played hard,” Waynflete Coach Todd Dominski said. “They’re a strong team, they won balls in midfield and got in the spots to put it in. We had our chances, we just couldn’t put it in.”
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