Even though she is only a sophomore, Bangor High School striker Georgie Stephenson has already shown a flair for late-game dramatics.
Her two goals in the final 9:11 of last year’s state Class A championship game broke a 1-1 tie and gave the Rams a 3-1 win over Scarborough.
She came through again on Tuesday night, burying a penalty kick with 4:45 remaining to give the Rams a hard-fought 3-1 victory over fellow Class A North contender Mt. Ararat of Topsham at Cameron Stadium.
Bangor is now 2-0 while Mt. Ararat fell to 1-1.
The game was tied 1-1 when a Mt. Ararat player knocked down a Ram in the penalty area on a corner kick, resulting in the penalty kick.
“I look straight at the goalie and usually they move to one side so, at that moment, I choose to go to the opposite side,” explained Stephenson. “But if they don’t move, I just place it as best as I can. And it always works.”
Stephenson calmly rifled a powerful shot into the corner to the right of junior goalie Morgandy Crawford, who had no chance.
“I definitely felt I hit it well. I kept my thoughts positive,” added Stephenson.
Senior attacking midfielder Clara Oldenburg scored her second goal of the game with 1:13 remaining to ice it. She received a deflected ball off the foot of a Mt. Ararat defender at the top of the penalty area and sailed her shot over Crawford’s head.
Oldenburg had opened the scoring with just 13:09 left in regulation when she took a pass from Gabby Gordon and curled a shot from the top of the area past the hands of Crawford.
But the Eagles, who didn’t generate a shot attempt in the second half until there were 12 minutes left, responded dramatically to tie it four minutes later when junior Katherine Therriault drilled an eight-yard shot past Bangor goalie Emily Caulkins during a wild flurry in which the Eagles first hit the post.
Bangor had a decided edge in possession during the game but the Eagles, led by senior back Jenna Jensen, defended effectively and limited the Rams’ high-percentage scoring opportunities. The Eagles blocked four shots and Crawford turned in an impressive performance in goal as she made nine saves on 21 shot attempts.
Bangor goalkeeper Emily Caulkins finished with three saves on 10 shots including the game’s best stop in the first half when she dove full-length to her right to get her hand on a curling shot from Hannah Hunt.
