The Ellsworth girls soccer team may have been knocked out of the playoffs because of an incorrectly followed overtime rule, but the Eagles likely won’t pursue a protest.

Ellsworth, ranked fifth in Class B’s Southeastern division, played No. 4 Mount View at Thorndike Saturday and eventually lost 1-0 after overtime and penalty kicks.

The Eagles claim the referees didn’t know the rule for penalty kicks in overtime games.

The game was tied at 0-0 through regulation and 40 minutes of overtime play. It was still knotted after the first round of penalty kicks, which sent the game into a second round of kicks, which should have been sudden death.

Both teams opened that second round with a miss in the first set of kicks. Ellsworth’s Mallory Patten made her penalty shot but the Mount View player missed her kick. Ellsworth coach Jen Myers said that should have been the end of the game.

The referee, however, allowed the teams to continue penalty kicks. Mount View made five out of 10 penalty kicks and Ellsworth made four. The referee ruled that the Mustangs won the game.

“I’m not sure what happens next,” said Ellsworth coach Jen Myers. “Our season’s done. … I just hope the referees meet about this so it doesn’t happen again.”

Ellsworth athletic director Jay Brown, who was in Augusta for an unrelated meeting, said he asked MPA assistant director Larry LaBrie if the school could file some kind of protest. Brown said LaBrie told him nothing could be done.

According to the 2001-2002 MPA soccer bulletin, the procedure for ties after regulation in playoff soccer games is that the two teams play four 10-minute, sudden-death periods. If the score remains tied, each coach selects five players to attempt the penalty kicks.

If each team makes the same number of kicks, the game moves to the second round.

The bulletin states, “Each coach will select five different players, other than the first five who have already kicked, to take the penalty kicks in a sudden death situation; wherein, if one team scores and the other team does not score, the game is ended without more kicks being taken.”

Myers said the Mount View coaches questioned the referees about the penalty kick procedure before the teams took their kicks.

After the game, several Ellsworth fans, and Myers’ husband Drew, who is an assistant boys soccer coach, questioned the referee. Myers did not have a copy of the MPA bulletin with her, which she regrets.

Myers said the team is upset, especially her eight seniors, but she hopes they will see the game’s outcome differently.

“We played by the rules and did everything that was asked of us,” she said. “We lost the game according to the rules we followed. … [The team] is upset and rightly so. I feel badly for the team but I’ve got next year and 10 underclassmen returning. [The seniors] feel kind of cheated.”

WA boys reach new ground

No one seems to know for sure, but Washington Academy boys soccer coach Troy Alley figures it has been at least 15 years since the No. 2 Raiders of East Machias won a playoff game.

They did so Saturday, beating No. 7 Sumner of East Sullivan 4-1 at East Machias

“I think it’s been that long, and everybody’s been telling me it may even have been longer,” said Alley, the son of longtime Jonesport-Beals basketball coach Ordie Alley.

Not only has Washington Academy recorded a big playoff win, but the Raiders sealed their 9-2-1 regular season with a 4-3 victory over rival Machias, a Class D power that hadn’t lost a regular season game in more than two years.

“We’re in uncharted territory for us,” Alley said. “We’re really excited.”

The Raiders have played well behind the scoring of Matt Gibson and Juan Cabau, who each had a goal Saturday, and the goaltending of Barrett Craven.

Balanced offense key for Rams

After a disappointing 3-4 start to the season, the Bangor boys soccer team has turned everything around.

The No. 3 Rams are now 7-0-1 in their last eight games, including Saturday’s 4-0 win over No. 6 Skowhegan in a Northeastern division quarterfinal.

“The one thing that we really have learned is that hard work pays off,” junior midfielder Ryan Jeffrey said after Saturday’s win. “Good things come to people that work hard, as our coach has been telling us all year long. We finally got it in our heads.”

The Rams’ run also includes a 2-1 victory over No. 2 Presque Isle, the team which Bangor will face in a division semifinal today.

Bangor has outscored its opponents 26-5 in the eight-game span, and it seems as if the goals have come from all sides, from forwards to defenders, starters to subs.

Among the goal-scorers in the stretch: midfielders Kyle Cutshall, Jeff Oertel, Jeffrey, Matt Larochelle, Erik Lenz and Alex McManus; forwards Josh York and Alex Chaiken; defender Andy Mahoney. Others have had assists.

The wins have also been a tribute to starting goalie Payson Nichols and backup Josh Heath. Nichols was especially key in a game against Class B Caribou, which ended up in a 0-0 tie. He made 16 saves on 22 Viking shots.

“I’ve gotten a lot more experience as the season has gotten on,” Nichols said. “I started off shaky and not sure of myself and now I feel so confident.”

Just like the rest of the team.

Jessica Bloch’s High School Report is published Tuesdays. She can be reached at 990-8193, 1-800-310-8600 or jbloch@bangordailynews.net.