HERMON, Maine — It was a rematch of last year’s Class B North schoolgirl soccer final on Wednesday night at Pottle Field in Hermon and the defending champion Ellsworth High School Eagles scored twice in the game’s first 3:37 en route to a 4-2 win over Hermon.
Ellsworth had won last year’s final 3-2.
Lizzy Boles and Lily Bean scored the early goals before Miah Coffin added a pair of second-half goals for the 2-0 Eagles.
Junior Madison Stewart scored both Hermon goals in the second half.
It was Hermon’s opener.
“It is so important to get a lead like that,” said Eagles senior midfielder Bean. “That gives you motivation for the whole game.”
“When you give up two goals in the first five minutes, it’s always going to be tough to come back from,” said Hermon coach M.J. Ball. “I liked our spirit in the second half especially. We created plenty of chances.
“We’re still working some kinks out. But any time you’re playing a physical team, you have to finish your chances. And I thought our shot selection was really poor today. When you take seven or eight shots from 30 yards out, there’s an issue,” he added.
Junior striker Boles opened the scoring just 1:33 into the game when Emily King’s long curling cross from the right side bounced off the hands of sophomore goalie Becca Balmas and went right to her.
Boles swept it into the open net.
Balmas was making her varsity debut in goal.
Just 2:04 later, Coffin’s corner kick pinballed around in the penalty area and a miskick by a Hawk midfielder landed right at the feet of Bean, who fired it between Balmas’s legs from the right side of the penalty area.
“It showed that we haven’t played since Aug. 31. The first five minutes we want to prepare a lot better than that,” said Ball. “But the first two goals came from nothing. The first one came on an early ball (into the penalty area) that should have been handled and the second one was a poor clearance right to their girl sitting at the eight.”
Both teams had good chances throughout the first half but the Hawks only put three of their 12 shot attempts on goal. Six missed the net, three were blocked and sophomore goalie Allie Bivins made three saves.
Balmas had six saves on 11 shot attempts.
Bivins, playing in place of the injured Jayden Sullivan, made a terrific save early in the second half to keep the two-goal cushion as she tipped Natalie Tardie’s powerful shot over the crossbar.
“That was pretty eventful,” said Bivins. “I think it brought the team up and made us get that third goal.”
“That was amazing,” said Coffin.
Just six minutes later, Coffin extended the lead with a dash down the right wing and a low 14-yard shot past Balmas into the near side corner.
“I was on the wide wing and I kept looking to pass but I didn’t see anyone so I hit it as hard as I could,” said Coffin.
Stewart got one back after being set up by Tardie, but Coffin restored the three-goal cushion with a free kick from just outside the penalty area that got through the Hawks wall and into the corner to Balmas’s left.
“I saw a gap in the wall and I was hoping they wouldn’t have been able to fix it if I kicked it early enough,” said Coffin.
Stewart converted from the penalty spot with 4:37 to go and she had a good chance a minute later off a partial break-in but Bivins made the save.
“I thought our defense did a great job,” said Ellsworth coach Eric Terrill whose back line consisted of Kennedy Lambert, Lanie Ray and sisters Taylor and Sydney Libby. “And we did a pretty decent job (marking) on Brooke Gallop. If you let her run wild, you aren’t going to win.”
Bivins wound up with six saves on 26 Hermon shot attempts and Balmas had seven on 16 Eagle shots.
Both teams will play again Saturday. Ellsworth will visit Caribou at noon while Hermon goes to Old Town for a 6 p.m. game.
