You can’t help but notice Lyndsee Reed at a Hermon High School girls soccer game.
Whether she scores or not, she is racing tirelessly all over the field while being marked by the other team’s best defenders.
And usually she’s scoring.
Senior Reed will enter Saturday’s 12:30 p.m. Class B state championship game against Yarmouth at Hampden Academy with 102 career goals, including 40 this season. That puts her tied for 21st on the state’s all-time girls scoring list. Hermon will be playing in its third straight state title game and is looking for its first championship after losing to Cape Elizabeth in the state game the past two years.
“She is a tremendous player,” said Hermon coach M.J. Ball. “She loves the game and will do anything for the team.”
Reed said she never envisioned scoring this many goals in her high school career.
“I just play the game and if it happens, it happens. I just play hard every game,” Reed said.
Old Town High School senior center midfielder Gabby Cote said Reed is a quality player.
“She’s tough. She works her butt off. She hustles,” said Cote.
Reed, a striker, said she has adjusted to being closely marked.
She spent her first three seasons partnered up front with Sydney Gallop, who is tied for 14th on the all-time scoring list with 112 goals. Reed piled up a ton of assists on Gallop’s goals.
Gallop graduated last spring so Reed received a lot more attention from opposing teams this season.
“I try to make those turns and touches I need to make to find some space,” said Reed, who is also an outstanding softball player and cheerleader at Hermon.
Losing Gallop left the Hawks with “big shoes to fill” said Reed, but she noted that freshmen Madison Stewart and Natalie Tardie have picked up the slack.
Stewart has 29 goals and Tardie has 14.
“They have done a great job of that and I’m trying to do my part as well,” Reed said.
Stewart and Tardie scored the goals in a 2-0 win over Old Town in the B North final. Reed assisted on Stewart’s goal.
“It was good to get that pressure [in the Old Town game] and having [markers] on you constantly. When you get to the state game, it’s going to be harder so it’s good to get that practice in a game like that,” said Reed.
The Hawks will take a 17-0 record into the state final, while Yarmouth is 14-3.
Yarmouth is seeking its first state title since it won back-to-back crowns in 2016 and 2017.
Reed is one of four Hawks chosen to the Maine Soccer Coaches’ Association’s All-North Regional Class B team, along with midfielders Allie Cameron, Brooke Gallop and Michaela Saulter.
Yarmouth has two on the South Regional team in back Kadin Davoren and forward Ava Feeley.
The other girls state championship game in Hampden on Saturday will be a rematch of last year’s Class C final between Maranacook of Readfield and Bucksport. Maranacook triumphed 5-0. Kickoff will be 5:30 p.m.
Bucksport is 17-0 and Maranacook is 16-0-1.
High-scoring Bucksport striker Ella Hosford, who had a state single-season record 61 goals last season, was an All-North C selection along with midfielder Allie Pickering.
Maranacook has been led by All-South forwards Natalie Mohlar and Addie Watson and midfielder Lily Caban.
The Class D and A games will be at Deering High School in Portland.
Penobscot Valley of Howland, 16-0-1, will try to derail North Yarmouth Academy’s search for a fourth straight title at 12:30 p.m.
NYA won its three playoff games by a combined score of 30-1 and features All-South D back Ella Giguere, forward Angel Huntsman, and midfielders Emily Robbins and Michala Wallace.
Midfielder Kaya Loring and sister Holly, a forward, and midfielder Lila Cummings were PVHS’ All-North D choices.
The Class A game at 5:30 p.m. will send 15-0-2 Brunswick, which lost to Windham 3-1 in last year’s final, against 17-0 Scarborough.
The Brunswick striker tandem of Alexis Morin and Molly Tefft earned All-North honors along with defender Hannah Lay, while Scarborough also placed three on the South Regional team in back Julia Black, midfielder Lana Djuranovic and striker Ali Mokriski.
