RICHMOND — A resilient North Yarmouth Academy girls soccer team needed overtime to knock off Richmond, 3-2, on Friday in a Class D South matchup of top high school teams.

It’s only the second game this season in which Richmond has surrendered more than two goals, and both were defeats.

The Bobcats entered the game at 10-1-1, tying in their previous meeting with NYA.

It may not be the last time the two teams meet, as the Panthers entered the game in third in the Heal Point Standings and now stand at 9-3-1. With playoffs looming, both teams welcomed the challenge against a strong opponent.

“I like having these types of games at the end of the season,” said Richmond coach Troy Kendrick. “Obviously there’s some games that aren’t as close. It’s good to have a challenging match like that.”

“Absolutely, this is the game we wanted,” said NYA coach Ricky Doyon.

Richmond was the more threatening side in the first half. The Panther defense stifled some Bobcat scoring opportunities and goalkeeper Carly Downey was able to take care of the rest in the opening half.. Richmond’s best chance early was a Bry Shea shot that deflected wide, as Shea was able to corral the ball inside the 18-yard box before Panther defenders closed in.

Richmond midfielder Caitlin Kendrick tested Downey twice in the final 10 minutes of the half. Downey denied a long drive from Kendrick, and later watched a shot sail just over the bar. Downey’s performance kept the game scoreless at the half.

“They owned the first half, she kept us in the game,” said Doyon. “The wind was blowing against us. I said I wanted a 0-0 first half and we were able to do that.”

“We played well, I just thought we left a lot of goals on the field,” said Troy Kendrick. “We created a bunch of nice chances and couldn’t finish them off.”

Richmond continued creating chances in the second half and eventually struck first. With NYA unable to clear the ball from a corner chance, Shea won the ball and beat Downey with a low drive to the bottom left corner of the net.

Panthers midfielder Catherine Reid responded, catching everyone off guard with a chip shot from the wing, with her shot finding its way just under the bar. The goal knotted the game at 1-1 with 24 minutes remaining.

Eight minutes later, Caitlin Kendrick struck for Richmond, meeting a corner kick on the near post to head home a goal.

NYA responded once again in dramatic fashion. With just over four minutes left in regulation, midfielder Natalie Farrell’s long cross in front of the goal found Maggie Holt, who headed home the tying goal.

Caitlin Kendrick had one final chance for Richmond, beating Downey with a shot that the goalkeeper was able to pull off the line.

“I thought we gave up some uncharacteristic goals for our defense,” said Troy Kendrick. “We left some people unmarked and made

some plays we don’t normally make. I just feel bad for the kids. They played hard. They wanted to win.”

The Panthers needed about half of the five minute overtime session. A seemingly harmless clear led to a race for the ball. Panthers forward Serena Mower slipped behind the Richmond defense to bury the game winner.

For both teams, there are positives to be taken from the late season battle.

“They played with a lot of heart. This is what we’ve been doing all season long,” said Doyon. “We’ll see, you never know how playoffs go. You could make it to the first round and suddenly that’s it.”

“I thought we played hard for 80 minutes,” said Coach Kendrick. “We just came up a little short. We did some good things. We created a bunch of chances. I just hoped we could finish a few more of those off.”

NYA will await a playoff opponent, while the Bobcats finish out the regular season at Buckfield Tuesday at 4 p.m.

Copy the Story Link

Comments are not available on this story.