By Ernie Clark
Special to the BDN
HERMON, Maine — Two first-half goals by Reese Doucette and a stellar second-half effort on defense lifted top-ranked Fort Kent past previously undefeated Foxcroft Academy 2-1 at the Pottle Sports Complex on Wednesday evening to capture its second straight Class C North girls soccer championship.
The regional crown is also the sixth in the last 13 seasons for Fort Kent, which previously captured the Class C state title in 2018.
Fort Kent (15-2) will seek the program’s second gold ball against 12-3 North Yarmouth Academy, a 1-0- winner over Maranacook of Readfield in the C South final.
The state final is set for 12:30 p.m. Saturday at Cameron Stadium in Bangor.
Foxcroft, which was in search of its first regional title, ended its season with a 15-1-1 record.
Doucette, a sophomore, struck first 10:49 into the contest on the counterattack after Fort Kent had cleared a Foxcroft corner kick from danger. The Warriors’ Madeline Martin gained possession on the left wing near midfield and slid a perfect lead pass ahead to Doucette, who moved past the defense and grounded a short-range shot just to the left of charging Foxcroft goalie Jasmine Hall and into the net to give the Warriors a 1-0 lead.
“[Maddie] got it to me and the goalie came out and I shot it into the right corner,” Doucette said.
Foxcroft tied the match nearly eight minutes later as freshman forward Nola Mason battled two defenders while dribbling the ball toward the left corner before sending a low shot across the goal crease and inside the far post.
The Ponies were attempting to clear the ball from its defensive end with just over 16 minutes left in the period but Doucette gained control in the center of the field and scored inside the left post from about 10 yards out to score what turned out to be the winning goal.
While the teams combined for 12 shots on goal before intermission, the second half was much more defensive minded — which came as no surprise given that Foxcroft had allowed just six goals in its first 16 games this fall while Fort Kent had outscored its opposition 64-12.
Fort Kent had the best scoring chances of the final half, a three-shot sequence midway through the period that required two diving saves by Hall along with a third shot that sailed just wide of the left post.
Fort Kent finished with a 14-6 edge in shots on goal, with Anna Durost making five saves for Fort Kent and Hall making 12 stops for Foxcroft.
“[Foxcroft] had a really strong defense, they were really hard to get past,” Doucette said, “But our defense has been strong every single game.”
