In Lincoln Tuesday afternoon, sophomore Rylee Moulton scored a goal and dished out two assists, and junior Ellie Austin scored twice to help lift the PVHS Lady Howlers over Bangor Christian 4-0 in a Class D North quarterfinal.
The game was played at a neutral site due to the poor conditions at the PVHS field.
PVHS was able to gain the advantage just 3:27 in, when senior defender Emma Potter took a seemingly harmless side-step around an attacker beyond midfield. Potter raced up the left flank, eluding other opponents in the process as carried the ball to the corner. Her powerful left leg sent a perfect ball that crossed over the outstretched hands of Bangor Christian goalie Sarah Brown, and deflected off the back post and into the net for a 1-0 lead.
At the 15 minute mark, a potential opportunity to knot it up by the Lady Patriots was thwarted, when a deflected corner kick was turned away at the goal line by center-back Allie LeBlanc. The play led to a second corner kick, this time though it was controlled by keeper Brooklynn Raymond. Raymond quickly raced to her line and sent a punt to Moulton, who was able to trap it and kick a lead pass ahead of the BC back line to Austin. Austin dribbled into the 18 yard line where she fired a shot into the net. Moulton would make it a 3-0 game prior to halftime, as she scored unassisted with just 39 seconds before the break.
The second half went scoreless until 13 minutes left, when the Moulton to Austin connection would strike again. A flat pass across the 18 from Rylee gave Ellie the space she needed to sidestep a defender and score. For Austin, it was career goal number 50. She joined teammates Moulton (51) and Lila Cummings (50) at that milestone mark.
With the win, Penobscot Valley will move on to face Central Aroostook in the semifinals on Friday at 4:00 in Howland, in a rematch from the same round last year won by the Howlers 2-1. Raymond saved seven of nine shots, as she and the defense notched their seventh straight shutout in the process. PVHS is now 15-0 on the season.
Brown stopped 13 of 31 for the Lady Patriots, who ended their season at 7-8. Bangor Christian will lose four seniors in Kate Linnehan, Caroline Kelley, Abigail Brown, and Grace Lewis.
