Sophomores carry underdog Hawks to upset over Orono

ORONO – Is there something in the water? Could there be some significance to being born in Hermon in the late 1970s? Just what is it with Hermon High School’s varsity girls teams lately?

Whatever it is, Saturday’s Eastern Maine Class B girls soccer championship proved it’s still working as a trio of sophomores stepped up and led the Hermon girls to a 1-0 upset victory over previously-unbeaten, second-seeded Orono.

The win by Coach Kevin McConnell’s fourth-sehe third EM title won by Hermon’s varsity girls teams in the last three seasons: basketball, softball, and now soccer.

Hermon, 9-6-2, will play Western B champ Windham, a 4-0 winner over Yarmouth, in the state final next Saturday. Orono finished 14-1-2.

Sophomore Jennifer Stewart scored the game’s lone goal off a beautiful pass from classmate Diane Rines with 3 minutes, 18 seconds left in the first half.

After Rines delivered a powerful corner kick from the left corner to the other side of the field, Liza Doughty stopped the ball and kicked it just inside the penalty area where Stewart took control.

Stewart kicked the ball to the left corner of the goal, but Orono freshman goaltender Susan Gardner knocked the ball away. The ball bounced right out to Rines on the left side of the net. She quickly passed to Stewart who had followed her shot and was standing about 15 yards outside the goal.

Stewart blasted the ball into the right side of the net before Gardner, caught on the left side, could move to deflect the shot.

“The ball was just kind of going across the middle and I felt real bad because I missed it the first time,” said Stewart. “I was real confident that Diane would get the ball back in the middle so I just waited for my turn to hit it, and it was there.”

The Hawks were dealt a serious blow midway through the first half when senior midfielder and playmaker Heather Pace had to leave the game with a sprained ankle. Pace didn’t return, but is expected to play in the state final.

“I had my doubts when Heather went down,” said McConnell. “Almost all of our goals have come from Heather and Liza.”

But rather than pack it in, the Hawks picked it up a notch and dominated the rest of the half by keeping the ball on the Orono side of the field.

Hermon’s sophomore goalie Pam Poland wasn’t content with just picking it up a notch. She elevated her whole game – sprinting out of the goal area to stop several Orono breakaways before a shot could be made.

“I like to challenge it,” said Poland. “I have a lot of confidence in my sweeper, Judy Buzzell, so I know if I do it she’ll be there to back me up.”

Poland made 13 saves on 17 shots including several point-blank shots off corner kicks late in the game – when Orono outshot Hermon 12-2 and kept play almost exclusively on Hermon’s end of the field.

Gardner finished with three saves on eight shots for Orono.