North Yarmouth Academy’s girls’ soccer team was sensational this fall and capped its season in the ultimate style last week, with the program’s third consecutive Class D state championship.

The Panthers boys had a great year as well, but they fell short in the state game for the second straight postseason.

A team for the ages

The NYA girls were a force of nature from the get-go this season and quickly made it clear that not only were they the best team that Class D had to offer, but that they truly were on the short list of the finest squads in the state, regardless of class.

The Panthers outscored the opposition, 83-4, in the regular season and went 13-0-1, their best mark in 17 years, with the only blemish a 1-1 tie at Class B South runner-up Yarmouth, a game NYA had ample chances to win. The Panthers earned the top seed for the Class D South playoffs and had no trouble with either eighth-ranked St. Dom’s (7-1) in the quarterfinals or No. 4 Richmond (5-0) in the semifinals.

Last Tuesday, at Messalonskee High School in Oakland, NYA met second-ranked Rangeley in the regional final and dominated for 80 minutes, rolling to a 7-0 victory. Before the game was 12 minutes old, the Panthers had a 4-0 advantage, as Jazzy Huntsman scored a goal, Anna Belleau converted a penalty kick and the Lakers helped out with a pair of “own goals.” By halftime, the score was 6-0 and NYA finished it off from there.

“Today was a really good day,” said Panthers junior standout Angel Huntsman. “Now we’re ready for the championship.”

“The goal was to get out on them immediately,” said Panthers coach Ricky Doyon. “I know they only had a couple subs, so the goal was to tire them initially. Go out quickly and see what pressure they can take.”

Saturday, after a long, long bus ride to Presque Isle, NYA took on Northern D champion Wisdom in the state final, where it was more of the same.

Emily Robbins scored early and Jazzy Huntsman added a goal for a 2-0 halftime lead. Maggie Holt then finished it off (from Huntsman) in the second half.

“That was great ball movement,” Doyon said, of the lead-up to Holt’s goal. “That started from halfway down the field and went through four players. It started from the back and went boom, boom, boom.”

Goalkeeper Charlotte Harper-Cunningham (seven saves) produced the exclamation point with a diving save on a Wisdom penalty kick as time wound down and the Panthers had a 3-0 victory, a 17-0-1 season and the program’s 10th Gold Ball.

“I’m not sure how to adequately label this team other than that they are a special group,” Doyon said. “The girls always played as a team and got the job done. We didn’t have any player who felt that she was the best player on the team. This team is comprised of pure athletes who had the same mission, to defend the 2019 title. I don’t want to take away anything from my 2018 and 2019 teams, but this 2021 team was the most technical and tactical I’ve had at NYA. With that said, I would take any of these previous teams.

“We approached each day with the mindset of one game at a time and that every team we faced could give us a game. When someone was not on, somebody stepped in and filled the void. Another thing that made this team tick was they all love to have fun. Sometimes it was tough to rein in their focus, but they always showed up on game day. I have a few characters on this team who made us laugh all the time. The key is to keep things fun while focusing on the little things and that separates the great teams from the good teams. We set short- and long-term goals. Further, we set small goals before games and at halftime. I always asked them, ‘What do we want to accomplish and why are we here?’ My philosophy is that we need every player on the team to play their role regardless of what that might be.

“The key to a successful team is to get buy-in. The girls have to believe that you have their backs and will be there for them. It’s more than what goes on the pitch. It’s about everyday life experiences. We all have bad days and need that push to get through it. That’s what this team does for each other.”

NYA isn’t done either.

“The 2022 season will require us to fill in some key departures,” Doyon said. “We have a solid junior class who will have to take the lead and guide the younger girls. We have a good group of sophomores and freshmen who had a fair amount of playing time at the varsity level this fall. Having some varsity time allowed them to experience a faster pace and more physical competition.

“I feel we will be competitive and should be able to hold our own. At the start of every season, I remind the girls that this is a new season and last season is just that, last season. It’s fun to reflect, but we will have to start from day one. The rest will fall into place.”

One win shy

NYA’s boys, meanwhile, hoped to get back to states and win the title, after falling in the championship game in 2019. The Panthers won just three of their first seven games, but closed on a 5-0-2 surge, then, as the No. 3 seed in Class D South, eliminated No. 6 Buckfield (2-1) in the quarterfinals and held off second-seeded Richmond by the same score in the semifinals.

Last Tuesday, at Messalonskee High School in Oakland, NYA met No. 1 Islesboro and rolled to a 4-0 victory. Ethan Brochu gave the Panthers the early lead, then Chas Rohde scored twice in the second half before Theo Falgren’s goal iced it.

“I knew something was coming,” Rohde said. “We’d been building. We had a great halftime talk from the coaches. I think the team knew what we had to do and I was just lucky to get on the end of it. We had to stick to the game plan and control what we can control and possess the ball.”

The Panthers advanced to take on Lee Academy in the Class D state final Saturday night in Presque Isle, where they finally met their match, as the Pandas prevailed, 5-0, to end NYA’s campaign at 11-5-2. Goalkeeper Michael Belleau made 10 saves, but the Panthers couldn’t produce any offense.

“It was a tough way to end what was a great run for our team,” said NYA coach Matt Williams. “About everything that could have gone wrong for us in the state game went wrong and Lee Academy capitalized on each and every mistake we made. Credit to them, they were the better team.

“I’m gutted for our seniors who gave us hard work and dedication to how we wanted to play all year long. I’m their third coach in four years, so I appreciate their buy-in. Sadly, we fell 80 minutes short of our goal, but it was a great run with an awesome group of young men I was honored to coach.”

The Panthers will give it another shot in 2022.

“We have big shoes to fill next year, but we return a hungry core that will be excited to wipe the memories of the state game away,” Williams said. “The beauty of our regular season is that it battle-tests us for the playoffs. The future is very bright for our group.”

Press Herald staff writers Travis Lazarczyk and Glenn Jordan contributed to this story.

Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @foresports.

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