WINDHAM — It seems whenever the Windham and Thornton Academy girls’ soccer teams meet, there’s a good chance 80 minutes of regulation play won’t be enough to decide a winner.

No matter how difficult the challenge, though, Windham usually finds a way to prevail.

The two-time defending Class A champions remained undefeated Friday night with a 1-0 victory in double overtime. Meghan Hoffses, a freshman reserve, scored 32 seconds into the second overtime with a header on a rebound after Thornton keeper Alexis Nason made a leaping save on a shot by Lindsey Arsenault.

“I saw Lindsey taking it all the way to the left side and I just went after the ball in case it didn’t go in, and it happened to deflect off the goalie, so I headed it in. It all happened really fast,” said Hoffses.

Thornton Academy (3-2) nearly upset Windham (6-0) in last year’s playoffs, but the Eagles rallied for a 3-2 overtime win. Two years ago, Windham beat Thornton in double overtime in the regional final.

It was the third game in five days for Windham, which has allowed only two goals so far this season.

“We just had a really (busy) week, at Noble, at Marshwood, and we’re finally home. So these guys are spent,” said Windham Coach Deb Lebel. “Marshwood was very tough and we knew (Thornton Academy) was going to give us a good game, too.”

Windham dominated early, playing much of the first half in the offensive zone. Thornton came on toward the end of the first half, but the Eagles held a 9-6 shots advantage at halftime.

Windham’s final edge in shots was 16-11.

“We are getting better every day,” said Thornton Coach Chris Kohl. “If (Windham) is the gold standard of where we are, then we know that we’re able to compete with these teams. It was a good litmus test to see where we are at this point in the season.”

The winning goal came from a newcomer who didn’t know if she’d get a chance to play this soon.

“Starting off, I didn’t exactly expect to be on varsity, so I’m really grateful just to be here,” said Hoffses.

Lebel said she’s not yet ready to put Hoffses in the starting lineup, but she’s impressed by what she’s seen so far.

“(Hoffses is) great,” said Lebel. “I tell her one game to work on something, and the next game I see it. That is something I am enjoying out of Meghan.”

Thornton’s Nason kept the game scoreless several good saves in regulation. The biggest save came with 10:58 remaining, when she dove to her right to deflect a shot by Ciera Berthiaume.

“I wouldn’t want another keeper. (Nason)’s a great keeper,” said Kohl. “She’s grown so much in the last three or four years. It was a tough result for her, but she kept us in this game and made some great saves on some tough shots.”

Nason finished with eight saves. Windham’s Sadie Nelson stopped five shots.

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