BANGOR, Maine — Bangor High School midfielders Teagan Atherley and Clara Oldenburg showed why they were Northern Maine All-State selections a year ago on Thursday night.
Senior Atherley had a hat trick and junior Oldenburg had a goal and an assist as the Class A North Rams beat previously undefeated in-town Class B rival John Bapst 5-0 at Cameron Stadium.
Defending Class A North titlist Bangor improved to 4-1 while the Crusaders slipped to 3-1.
Atherley, who will play at the University of Maine next fall for her father, Black Bear head coach Scott Atherley, staked Bangor to a 2-0 lead with goals 10 minutes apart in the first half before Oldenburg expanded the lead with 8:23 to go in the half.
Junior back Avery Clark made it 4-0 with 26:34 remaining in the contest before Atherley completed her hat trick 10:46 later.
Freshman Georgie Stephenson and senior Emily Adams picked up assists along with Oldenburg.
Senior goalkeeper Eva Coombs was rock solid, making six saves on 13 John Bapst shot attempts and alertly racing off her line a couple of times to clear balls away before a Crusader could chase it down and get off a shot.
John Bapst junior goalkeeper Grace Bouchard played well, making six stops on 19 Ram attempts including a superb left leg stop on Gabby Roy’s close-range attempt early in the second half.
Difference-makers Atherley and Oldenburg controlled the midfield.
They possessed the ball well, consistently won 50-50 balls, launched attacks with their skills and tenacity and they also tracked back to help out on the defensive side of the ball.
“We worked really hard. (John Bapst) worked hard, too, but our technique was a little better,” said Oldenburg.
“They started getting a little tired in the second half and we kept pushing hard. That helped us a lot,” said Atherley.
The Crusaders, under first-year head coach Greg Bennett, were well-organized and did a nice job limiting Bangor’s possession in and around the penalty area.
But Atherley broke through with 22:30 left in the half after gaining possession of a loose ball 24 yards from goal on the left hand side of the field.
She took a couple of touches toward the middle and unleashed a powerful shot into the far corner past the diving Bouchard, who had no chance on the well-placed shot.
Atherley scored her next one at the 12:29 mark off a perfect feed from Oldenburg, who had stolen the ball and slid a nice through ball straight ahead into her path.
“Gabby Gordon and I worked for the ball in the middle of the field and I found Teagan running through,” said Oldenburg.
“I flipped it near post into the upper right corner,” said Atherley whose sizzling shot from 10 yards out beat Bouchard to the near side.
John Bapst standout senior striker Claire Gaetani had the Crusaders’ best two chances of the first half in short succession off some Bangor turnovers in the back.
Gaetani broke free down the left channel in the penalty area but Coombs came out to cut down the angle and absorb the shot in her chest.
Seconds later, Gaetani had another chance from the left side but rolled her shot narrowly wide of the far post.
Oldenburg then made it 3-0 thanks to the work of the energetic Stephenson, grand-daughter of recent Maine Sports Hall of Fame inductee and former Bangor High and Husson University football coach Gabby Price and his wife Mary.
Stephenson made a run down the left wing and then put on a burst of speed to get around a John Bapst defender before sliding a low cross to the middle of the six-yard box where Oldenburg simply had to extend her foot to tap it into the empty net.
“Georgie made a great run to the end line and cut it back. I was right there,” said Oldenburg.
In the second half, Clark scored with a high lofted ball into the penalty area that sailed over the head of Bouchard and Atherley swept the ball into the open net from point-blank range after Bouchard made the initial save off a forceful shot by Adams.
“It was a tough game,” said John Bapst coach Bennett. “We could have given a little bit more but I was happy with how we played today.
“We get another crack at them a little bit later this season so, hopefully, we’ll do a better job next time,” Bennett added.
The teams will meet again on Oct. 16.
Both teams will be in action again on Saturday.
John Bapst will travel to take on defending Class B North champ Ellsworth in a battle of 3-1 teams at 10 a.m. while Bangor will entertain Oxford Hills of South Paris at noon.
Oxford Hills took a 2-1-1 record into a Thursday night game at Lewiston.
