At East Corinth, a battle between two top teams in their respective classes ended with a breakaway goal by a freshman with just 2:56 left in the second and final overtime to give Penobscot Valley a 1-0 girls soccer win over Central.
The game was intense and fairly evenly matched right from the start. The Red Devils seemed to control the pace and possession early, as the Howlers fought to minimize their attacks. Central had stronger scoring chances during this frame, and outshot PVHS seven to five before the half. Penobscot Valley got some timely clears by defenders, as well as some key saves by freshman goalie Lauryn Smart.
The opportunities opened up a bit more for the Howlers in the second half, including a tough-angled shot from Ellie Austin that went just wide of the net, as she had sidestepped goalkeeper Sydney Gray. Between the 2nd half and overtimes, PVHS held a slight edge on shots (10-6) over Central. The Devils however had a sizable advantage on corner kicks, taking 20 compared to three for Penobscot Valley. Many of these corner kicks (mostly taken by Rylee Speed), were struck extremely well and opened up many potential scoring opportunities.
Both defenses did a great job of closing down attacks on the edges and up the middle, led by center-backs Allie LeBlanc (PVHS) and Emma Byers (Central). Just when it seemed like a player had a breakaway or a through-pass, these talented defenders would clear it away. In addition to the play by Smart in net for PV, Central’s Gray was equally up to the task for the Red Devils, aggressively coming out to dive on an incoming ball time and time again. For two teams that came into this game averaging a lot of goals per game this season (Central 6.3, PV 8.8 per game), the defense, goaltending, and midfield play truly was the story of this contest.
After 85 scoreless minutes and the sun setting down behind the trees, Penobscot Valley caught the break they had been working so hard for. A loose ball was moving away from Central’s McKenzie Rushlow toward midfield, as she sprinted to track it down. PVHS’ Holly Loring stepped forward and got to it first, sending a beautiful chip toward the 18 yard line, where Rylee Moulton had just streaked by the back line of defense. From there, it was one on one with keeper Gray, as she once again aggressively came out to meet the attacker. Moulton was able to shoot the ball high enough to get over Gray’s head, but soft enough so that it dropped under the crossbar for the win with less than 3 minutes left in Double-OT.
With the win, the Lady Howlers currently sit at first place in Class D North. Smart got her sixth straight shutout, stopped 12 of 13 shots as her team improved to 7-0. Penobscot Valley will host Penquis in a make-up game on Saturday.
Central drops to 7-2 with the tough defeat, but remains in second place in Class C North. The Red Devils travel to Sumner on Saturday. Gray ended up recording 13 saves on 15 shots.
