NYA girls get big game from Casey, eliminate Hall-Dale in semifinals

YARMOUTH—Lyla Casey had a simple goal heading into Friday afternoon’s Class C South semifinal.

“My goal was to get a hat trick today,” said Casey, a junior forward on North Yarmouth Academy’s girls’ soccer team, the top seed in the region.

And what Casey wanted, Casey got.

Hosting No. 4 Hall-Dale at Lewis Field, Casey and her teammates weren’t sluggish at all after not playing in 10 days, as she opened the scoring in the 25th minute, burying a pretty shot after taking a pass from classmate Emily Robbins.

Three minutes later, off a corner kick, Casey finished a serve from junior Ella Giguere.

The Panthers then got a goal from sophomore Jordan Nash, the first of her varsity career, just before halftime, to make it 3-0.

The Bulldogs got back in the game five minutes into the second half, when senior Hayden Madore headed home a corner kick, but NYA squashed any comeback hopes with 30:54 to play, when freshman Natasha Godfrey finished.

Then, with 4:13 remaining, Casey achieved her goal, scoring for the third time, and while junior Marie Benoit added a penalty kick goal for Hall-Dale with 2:31 left, the Panthers went on to a 5-2 victory.

NYA improved to 12-1-3, ended Hall-Dale’s campaign at 11-5 and set up a compelling Class C South Final showdown versus rival Waynflete (11-5), the No. 3 seed, Wednesday at 4 p.m., at Lewiston High School.

“We weren’t rusty,” Casey said. “We took a lot of time during practice fixing the little things we needed to work on. I think that prepared us for the game today.”

No rust

NYA made Class D its personal playground between 2018 and last year, winning all four state titles contested (there was no postseason in 2020 due to the pandemic).

This fall, the Panthers moved up to Class C and haven’t skipped a beat (see sidebar for links to previous stories), tying three Class B South contenders, losing in double-overtime to Waynflete (a loss they later avenged) and winning their other 10 contests to earn the top seed for the Class C South playoffs.

Last Tuesday, NYA blanked visiting No. 8 Sacopee Valley, 3-0, then it had a protracted layoff due to last week’s mass shooting in Lewiston in the ensuing manhunt.

Panthers coach Ricky Doyon leaned on his players to scout the Bulldogs in advance of Friday’s contest.

“I watched some of their games and that helped us out and I made the girls watch film and had them tell me their pros and cons,” Doyon said.

Hall-Dale, meanwhile, started just 1-2, then won seven of eight to get on track.

In last week’s quarterfinals, the Bulldogs squeaked past No. 5 Monmouth, 2-1, to advance.

The teams had met twice previously in the postseason (see sidebar), with the Panthers prevailing both times.

Friday, on a breezy but sunny and chilly afternoon (52 degrees at the start), NYA needed a few minutes to get going, but the offense would deliver and deliver again.

North Yarmouth Academy junior Nell Rohde controls the ball as Hall-Dale freshman Maya Hammonds gives chase during the Panthers’ 5-2 victory Friday. Hoffer photos.

Casey had a chance to put the home team on top in the third minute, but off a corner kick serve from Giguere, she missed just wide.

Junior Nell Rohde then had a similar opportunity in the sixth minute, but also missed wide.

With 25:20 to go in the first half, freshman Caroline Matusovich broke in alone, but was denied by Hall-Dale sophomore goalkeeper Sierra Gibbons.

The Bulldogs got their first good chance in the 18th minute, but after an NYA turnover, a shot from senior captain Jenna Lee was denied by Panthers senior goalkeeper Sarah Moore.

After Gibbons saved a shot from Matusovich, senior Hayden Wienckowski missed high, but with 15:58 left in the first half, the Panthers went on top to stay.

Robbins passed the ball to Casey in the middle, who dribbled past one defender, settled the ball, then ripped a shot into the left corner.

“I just took my chances and hit it to the net,” said Casey.

After Giguere broke up a chance for Benoit in the box, NYA struck again, with 12:10 on the clock.

This time, the goal came off a corner, as Giguere served the ball in and Casey ran on to it and steered it past Gibbons to make the score 2-0.

“I ran toward the ball and I just got it in,” said Casey.

“(Lyla’s) a great player and it was about getting her to get confidence,” Doyon said. “I knew it was there. She’s faster and stronger this year. She’s a quality player.”

After Gibbons leapt to rob Giguere on a long shot, Robbins broke up a pass from Benoit to junior Julia Nott.

With just 2:12 to go before halftime, Godfrey set up Nash on the doorstep and Nash finished for the first time as a varsity player to give NYA a commanding 3-0 halftime advantage.

NYA junior Lyla Casey leaves Hall-Dale freshman Emmalin Nichols in her wake.

The Bulldogs refused to go quietly when the second half began and after Gibbons dove to rob Godfrey, they got on the board with 35:34 to play, as Nott served in a corner kick and Madore headed it over Moore and in to cut the deficit to 3-1.

Hall-Dale hoped to draw even closer, but Moore beat junior Addison Tinkham to a feed from senior Zoe Soule and the Panthers went on the counter-attack and were rewarded, as Bila touched the ball ahead to Godfrey, who beat Gibbons to restore the three-goal advantage with 30:54 on the clock.

“We kept scoring and kept our confidence,” Godfrey said. “Graca passed it through the defenders and I just ran onto it and picked a corner. I’m very happy to play so much this year.”

“(Natasha) brings speed, goals, a positive attitude and opportunities for the rest of us,” said Casey.

“I told the girls that if (Hall-Dale) got a goal, they could get another and it could be a 3-2 game and to not fall into that,” Doyon added. “What I appreciate is that they countered and got it back quickly.”

Gibbons prevented the game from getting totally out of hand by saving shots from Bila, sophomore Anaya Roundy and Giguere.

Then, with 11:44 to go, the Bulldogs earned a penalty kick and Madore did the honors, but Moore dove to her left to make the save, then got up and saved a rebound bid from junior Miriam Asch.

With 4:13 on the clock, Casey completed her quest, taking a pass from Rohde, then beating a defender before firing a low shot past Gibbons to make it 5-1.

“Lyla wanted the hat trick today and she got it,” said Doyon.

With 2:31 left, Hall-Dale was awarded a second penalty kick and this time, it converted, as Benoit beat Moore to the goalie’s left.

That’s as close as the Bulldogs would get, however, and the Panthers closed out their 5-2 victory.

NYA exults at the final horn.

“We practiced a lot and took touches on the ball, so we came into the game really prepared,” Godfrey said. “I think that we just kept playing hard and we didn’t give up.”

“We’ve grown a lot as a team,’ Casey said. “We’ve lost a lot of great seniors over the years, but we’ve gained a lot of great underclassmen and it’s formed a strong team.”

“The girls are dialed in right now,” Doyon added. “As the game went on, we got even better. We had good runs. We didn’t take advantage of all our opportunities, but we took advantage of five. I was able to get a lot of players in. I knew it would be a really close game. (The Bulldogs) have size, they’re physical. They’re a quality team.”

The Panthers had a 17-7 advantage in shots on frame, got five saves from Moore and took nine corner kicks to the Bulldogs’ two.

Hall-Dale got 12 saves from Gibbons.

Renewing acquaintances

From 2005-09, NYA and Waynflete did battle in the playoffs on an annual basis with three of the meetings taking place in the then-Western C Final. The Panthers are 3-2 all-time versus the Flyers in the postseason, but Waynflete took the most recent encounter, 2-1, in the 2009 semifinals.

NYA can’t wait to take on the challenge.

“I’m looking forward to the regional final,” said Godfrey. “I’m so excited.”

“It means a lot to move up in class and get to the regional final,” Casey said. “We just have to keep doing what we’ve been doing so far. We’ll just play our game.”

“We do have something to prove going from Class D to Class C,” added Doyon. “We want to show that NYA isn’t going anywhere. We’ve lost quality players and we haven’t had dominant games, but the girls are doing what they need to do. I’m very pleased.

“I’m looking forward to (playing Waynflete). I suspect it will be a good game. We’ll do what we do. We know who their players are they know who our players are. We’ll make adjustments as we have to. They have the same goal we do. We’ll see what happens. It’s all about getting that win and going to states. We’re not done. We have to win two more games.”