GORHAM — Thornton Academy played a fairly solid defensive game against the favored Gorham High Rams.
But the Trojans left one player unmarked early, and Emily Bragg saw her.
Bragg’s pass set up Hallie Shiers’ early goal as Gorham beat Thornton 1-0 on Tuesday night in a Class A South quarterfinal.
Third-seeded Gorham (12-3) moves on to the semifinals Saturday against the winner of Wednesday’s game between No. 2 Scarborough (12-1-1) and No. 7 Deering (9-5-1). Gorham lost to both teams during the regular season.
No. 11 Thornton finished 8-8.
Gorham had defeated Thornton 5-0 earlier this month and Tuesday’s game quickly looked like it might be a rout.
Gorham pressured early, earning a corner kick in the first minute. Thornton senior goalkeeper Lexi Nason made the save on a header.
But the Rams’ attack continued. Bragg had the ball and looked over.
“I saw one of our best shooters at the top of the box and she was open,” said Bragg. So the senior passed to the freshman, Shiers.
Nason is an accomplished goalkeeper with 25 career shutouts. Shiers wanted to shoot it high and hard – she got the aim right.
“When I shot it, I thought I was just going to drill it over,” Shiers said. “But somehow I chipped it right over her head.”
The lob shot worked for a 1-0 lead 8:01 into the first half.
“They cashed in on a great goal,” Thornton Coach Chris Kohl said. “No one is saving that.”
Shiers had also scored in that 5-0 win over Thornton on Oct. 2, but she wasn’t thinking of another rout.
“We had to stay composed and keep going strong,” Shiers said.
Good thing because the Trojans were not going away.
Thornton solidified its defense – with Cassidy Cochrane, Eden LeBlanc and Tatem LeClair in front of Nason – and the Rams could not get another score.
“I’m really proud of my team,” said Kohl, who had only two returning starters this year. “Having a newer group evolving as the season went along … I thought we competed well. We lost here 5-0 so obviously we’ve come a long way.”
Gorham was not taking Thornton lightly – “we saw them beat Falmouth (1-0 in the prelims). We knew,” said Rams Coach Jeanne Zarrilli.
Gorham still created chances – with pressure from Bragg and fellow senior forward Lizzie Sullivan – but were thwarted.
Meanwhile, Thornton rarely threatened. And if the Trojans did, backs Cady Houghton, Noelle Dibiase and Narissa Libby cleared away any trouble. Goalkeeper Emma Smith needed to make only one save, on a harmless ball sent in during the first half.
“Defensively we played pretty solid. I don’t know if there were too many threats,” said Zarrilli, who heaped extra praise on Libby, who plays on both ends of the field.
“She defends as well as attacks. She’s extremely valuable and a very smart player.”
Libby is one of many strong players on “a very talented Gorham team,” as Kohl put it. And now the Rams are moving on to Saturday.
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