SACO — Sarah Talon was the star with three goals, but she knew she had plenty of help as unbeaten Windham High beat Gorham, 3-0, in the Class A South girls’ soccer final Wednesday at Thornton Academy.
“We were ready to play. We wanted this so bad,” Talon said. “I just think this team’s chemistry is nothing like anything I’ve been on before. We’re all one big family and we support each other, and we all want it for everybody else, not just ourselves.”
Talon scored two first-half goals on assists from Abbey Thornton and Elizabeth Levesque. Her third goal gave Windham breathing room, converting a misplay by Gorham in the box after Ashley Clark had gotten the ball deep on a nice move from the wing.
Top-seeded Windham (18-0) advances to Saturday’s state final at Massabesic High in Waterboro against Brunswick (15-2). The Dragons beat previously unbeaten Bangor, 2-1, in overtime in the North final.
It will be the Eagles’ first trip to the state championship game since winning back-to-back titles in 2013-14.
Windham was the only team to beat third-seeded Gorham (13-2-3) this season, also winning 3-1 on the road on Sept. 30. Thornton scored all three goals in that game.
“They’re both really dangerous,” Gorham Coach Jeanne Zarrilli said of Talon and Thornton. “But I also think they have a cast of supporting players who support them and move off the ball well, and all across the field they’re a quality team.”
Windham had a 25-6 shot advantage, with Gorham goalie Rachel Gross playing well in a 14-save effort. Windham keeper Eliza Trafford made five saves, most on long-range shots. Gorham struggled to penetrate a defense led by freshman stopper Stella Jarvais and vocal leader and senior sweeper Amelia Mortero. Windham’s defenders were also adept at starting the offense in transition.
“That’s our main goal, to support our offense,” Mortero said. “We’re best when we get (the ball to our) feet, so we might as well do that, and it starts in the defensive end and the midfield pushes it up, and that’s how Sarah Talon scored three goals today.”
Talon’s first goal showed both her skill and Thornton’s heady play. Earlier in the game, Thornton had taken direct kicks and put them on goal. This time, she made a soft pass to Talon, who moved to her right before making a tight 180-degree spin dribble back to her left to free her left foot for a shot that beat Gross with 20:06 to play in the first half.
Talon got her second goal on a hard shot after running onto an excellent forwarding pass by Levesque, who had made a run to create space.
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