DEXTER– Nolan Porter picked a perfect time to score his first goal of the season. That time came with 4:35 remaining in the second half of the Houlton Shiretowners Maine Principal’ Association 3-2 Class C quarterfinal win over Dexter on Friday afternoon.
The Shiretowners jumped out to a 1-0 lead when Keegan Gentle got a rebound off a save by Tigers goalie Brett Kusneirz and put it into the back of the net. Kusneirz was right there to make a diving save on a Pat Howe penalty kick. The ball bounced off Kusneirz and Gentle came rushing in and gave Houlton the lead.
Gentle wasn’t done there. He scored his second goal with 23:22 remaining. Bud Sathtachotinun got the Tigers within one goal when he kicked one off the fingertips of Shiretowners goalie AJ Henderson.
Sathtachotinun set up the game tying goal when he drilled the ball towards the goal off of Matt Richards head and into the goal with 16:00 left in the second half.
Porter’s dramatics in the final minutes sent the Shiretowners to the semifinals and a showdown with top seed Fort Kent. Houlton (8-6-1) lost 4-1 and 2-0 in their two regular season matchups with Fort Kent.
Houlton coach Caleb Byrum said, “we played pretty well with them both times, we are hoping for a better outcome this time.”
Henderson recorded nine saves for the Shiretowners. Kusneirz recorded eight saves for the Tigers. Dexter finishes their season with a record of 7-6-2.
