FREEPORT — With the prospect of another early playoff ouster staring them in the face, the Freeport Falcons dug deep on Tuesday and produced an exhilarating victory 16 years in the making.

Senior standout Alexa Koenig scored the biggest goal of her career, finishing off a penalty corner with 2:27 to go, and Freeport rallied to beat Poland 3-2 at the Joan Benoit Samuelson Track and Field.

It was Freeport’s first quarterfinal victory since 2002 and advanced the Falcons to a Class B South semifinal at No. 2 Fryeburg Academy (11-2-2) Saturday.

The third-ranked Falcons, who were beaten handily at home by Lake Region in last year’s quarterfinal round, were expected to have an easy time with a sixth-seeded Poland team they had handled by four goals three weeks ago.

But less than seven minutes into Tuesday’s game, Freeport was behind 2-0, and on the ropes.

The Falcons were consistently frustrated by Knights goalie Ashton Sturtevant, but in a two-minute span, Aynslie Decker and Hannah Groves rattled the cage to tie the score, setting the stage for Koenig’s winner.

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“It was so stressful,” Koenig said. “I knew Poland would come out strong. Their goalie shut everything down and it was terrifying when they started scoring early, but this shows we’re willing to fight if we fall behind.”

Just 1:43 in, the Knights, who played in the regional final a year ago, got the jump when Autumn Willis scored from Hwida Nawass in transition.

When Brianna Doucette scored after a failed clear with 23:22 to play in the first half, Poland had a stunning 2-0 lead.

“We shocked Freeport and shocked everyone,” said Doucette. “No one expected us to come out strong like that.”

With Sturtevant stopping every Falcons bid, including a sensational kick save on a shot from Ally Randall early in the second half, it looked grim for Freeport, but the Falcons rallied.

Decker, a sophomore, sparked the comeback, finishing a pass from Kerry Lefebvre with 21:13 left. Randall set up Groves to tie the score with 19:17 to go.

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“It was about momentum,” said Freeport Coach Marcia Wood. “We couldn’t get it, then we scored and got momentum and everyone started moving faster.”

With 15 minutes left, Doucette had a goal on a penalty corner waved off, as her shot was ruled to have come from outside the circle.

Then came Koenig’s heroics.

Off the Falcons’ eighth penalty corner, Koenig, who is usually at the top of the circle, found herself alone in front with Sturtevant, where she finished off a pass from Groves.

“I’m usually not near goal, so that was kind of exciting,” Koenig said. “Hannah passed it straight to post and it was perfect. Ashton beat me strong side, so I switched backwards and tried to sneak it past her back foot and luckily, I got it. It wasn’t even that cool of a goal. It was a tip-in, but being a game-winner, it’s awesome.”


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