They fell behind in their regional finals, but both Scarborough and Camden Hills rallied to remain unbeaten and set up a rematch of their Class A girls’ soccer state championship game.
A year ago in Portland, the Windjammers jumped to a three-goal lead and weathered a late Scarborough flurry to win 3-2 for a second straight state title. Camden Hills tries to make it three in a row at 10 a.m. Saturday at McMann Field in Bath in one of the eight state championship soccer games.
Classes A and D will play at Morse High in Bath, and Classes B and C at Hampden Academy.
Camden Hills and Scarborough are both 17-0. The only other unbeaten, untied team in the state is the Cape Elizabeth girls, who take on Presque Isle (14-1-2) in the Class B final at 3 p.m. in Hampden.
“We all want this so bad,” said Scarborough senior Molly Murnane, whose appearance in the 2017 state final was Scarborough’s first since 2012. “This is all we’ve been talking about all season. We’re so excited and we’re so much more prepared than we were last year.”
Here’s a brief look at each game:
CLASS A GIRLS
Since moving up in classification four years ago, Camden Hills is 66-2-2 and boasts a potent offense led by Kris Kelly (108 career goals), Kassie Krul (16 goals, 10 assists) and Eliza Roy (25 goals, 21 assists). The 4-3 victory over Messalonskee in the regional final marked the only game decided by a goal. Only three others have been as close as two.
Murnane leads Scarborough in scoring with 11 goals but Leah Dickman has 10 and Ashley Sabatino nine, so the offense is well balanced. The Red Storm defense has yielded six goals all season.
CLASS A BOYS
Lewiston (15-0-2) and Gorham (16-0-1) are scheduled for 12:30 p.m. in Bath. Neither team has allowed a playoff goal. The Blue Devils are defending champs and seeking a third title in four years. Senior back Henok Citenga and junior forward Bilal Hersi lead a squad that outscored opponents, 68-6.
Led by Andrew Rent’s 16 goals and nine assists, Gorham has outscored opponents 51-4 this season. Ryan Farr, with eight, is one of a dozen other goal-scorers. Keeper Trevor Gray has 13 shutouts. The Rams played in the 2016 final (losing 2-1 to Bangor) but haven’t won it all since the last of their seven state titles in 1981.
CLASS B GIRLS
First-year Cape Elizabeth coach Graham Forsyth said in preseason he thought his team had the makings of a state champion, and the Capers backed up his words with 14 shutouts and only three goals allowed. Defending state champion Yarmouth took a lead in their regional semifinal before falling 2-1 and Greely scored once in each of two regular-season losses.
The Capers are bidding for their seventh state title and last appeared here in a 2014 overtime loss to Waterville, the only North/Eastern team from Maine to win Class B since Winslow in 2000. Presque Isle returns to the title game for a second straight year, hoping to erase memories of a 9-0 loss to Yarmouth. The Wildcats have not allowed a goal in their last seven games. Their only loss was to Class C finalist Fort Kent in September.
CLASS B BOYS
Freeport (12-3-2) takes on Presque Isle (14-1-2) in Hampden at 5:30 p.m. The Falcons last played for a state title in 1978. Presque Isle is making its first appearance in 10 years.
Interestingly, Bob Strong of Freeport is one of the three head coaches involved in state championship games Saturday who played at Georges Valley under Sam Pendleton, who led the Buccaneers to 416 victories and eight state titles before the Thomaston school merged with neighboring Rockland in 2011 to form Oceanside.
Strong scored the winning goal in triple-overtime to beat Schenck of East Millinocket in the 1988 Class C title. Tim King of Gorham played for the 1981 Georges Valley squad that beat Ashland for the state title. Travis Magnusson, a 2002 Georges Valley graduate, coaches the Maranacook girls, who face Fort Kent in the Class C title game.
“He always got the best out of all of his players, from the star player to the last kid on the roster,” King said of Pendleton. “We all would run through a wall for that man, and that often made the difference when playing more talented teams.”
CLASS C GIRLS
Maranacook (12-2-3) of Readfield emerged as the fourth regional seed, losing two of its final three games (to Morse and Winslow) before squeaking through three playoff games, all decided by one goal, the regional final on penalty kicks. The Black Bears are playing in their first state final. Kickoff is 10 a.m. in Hampden.
Seeded third in the North, Fort Kent (10-5-2) also won three close playoff games. The Warriors have appeared in three previous state finals since 2010 and lost by a goal each time, twice in overtime.
CLASS C BOYS
Waynflete (14-0-3) takes on Fort Kent (14-2-1) at 12:30 p.m. in Hampden. Both teams were top seeds in their region.
The Flyers are shooting for a fifth state title. They allowed only one goal in October, to four-time defending Class B state champion Yarmouth in a 1-1 tie. Another tie came against Class B South runner-up Cape Elizabeth.
Fort Kent returns for a second straight year, losing 1-0 to Maranacook last fall.
CLASS D GIRLS
North Yarmouth Academy (13-3-1) plays Central Aroostook (16-0-1) of Mars Hill in Bath at 3 p.m. NYA is 7 of 7 in state championship games, all between 1999 and 2007 in Class C, and ended nine years of regional dominance by Richmond, the Class D South top seed and runner-up. An influx of players from the former Maine Girls Academy has lifted NYA.
Central Aroostook, also nicknamed the Panthers, took care of its only blemish – a 1-1 tie with Ashland in early October – in the regional final, a 4-3 win.
CLASS D BOYS
North Yarmouth Academy (15-2) plays Penobscot Valley (16-1) in Bath at 5:30 p.m. The Panthers are in a state final for the first time since 2010, thanks to a 1-0 victory decided by penalty kicks in the South final against Temple. One of the two NYA losses came in overtime against unbeaten Waynflete, the other to Sacopee Valley.
The Howlers of Howland are riding a 15-game winning streak. They last played for a state title in 1991, losing 3-1 to Sacopee Valley.
Glenn Jordan can be contacted at 791-6425 or
Twitter: GlennJordanPPH
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