Panthers edge Shires for title Lenentine stellar despite loss

HAMPDEN – After assailing Houlton’s net for the better part of 77 minutes with 26 shots, the North Yarmouth Academy girls were starting to wonder if anything was ever going to find its way into the Shiretowner goal.

Just 30 seconds after a hard shot from 20 yards out bounced off the right post, the NYA Panthers got their answer in an affirmative way as Catherine vonBrecht pushed a deflected ball into the right corner.

Her teammates made vonBrecht’s goal stand up and the Panthers notched a 1-0 win in the Class C state championship soccer game on a cold, blustery Saturday afternoon at the Weatherbee athletic complex.

“We were controlling the entire game, so I knew we were going to put one in. I just didn’t know when we were going to do it,” vonBrecht said.

The 17-1 Panthers did it with 2:35 left in the game as a deflection off a shot to the left side came over to vonBrecht, who outraced two defenders to the ball and delivered a sliding, push-kick off the bottom of her shoe which rolled the ball into the corner before Houlton goalie Anna Lenentine could rush to that side of the net.

“I was in a bunch and the ball came through. There was a girl in front of me, but I got to the ball first,” vonBrecht said. “We talked about putting the ball on the ground more and we finally did on that one.”

Good idea, since anything in the air was expertly caught, deflected, kicked or simply blocked by Houlton’s senior goaltender.

“She was amazing. She saved the game for them, I think,” said NYA sophomore Meghan Meintel, who was credited with the assist. “We knew they packed their defense pretty tight and we practiced getting it over their defense in practice, so I knew I just had to get it in there and someone would finish it.”

Ironically, vonBrecht’s shot was one of the least authoritative taken at the Shires’ net. Of the 29-shot NYA barrage, three barely missed the top half of the goal and settled on the top of the net, one hit the crossbar and deflected outward, and two hit the posts.

“We were dodging bullets all afternoon and there was one last one we just couldn’t dodge,” said coach Sean Callahan, whose Shires finish 12-5-1.

The relentless Panthers just kept coming right at Lenentine, who made 26 saves, 10 of which were highlight quality.

“She’s been doing that all year,” Callahan said. “Not only can she go side to side and stop most shots taken from outside the 18, but when there’s a ball coming forward, she’ll not only corral the ball, she’ll punish any striker or wing trying to dribble in on her. Once she does that, they’re usually less aggressive the next time.”

Houlton managed just one shot on goal, although NYA ‘keeper Tara Merrill didn’t have to make a save as it was deflected by a defender.

Despite the loss, the Shires were upbeat after the game.

“We’ve had a great season. We really didn’t think we’d get this far, but we surprised everybody and surprised ourselves,” Lenentine said. “We’re really proud of our team.”

Panthers coach Jill Hansen felt the same way.

“The key to our team’s success really has nothing to do with soccer. They get along so well on this team that they made my job a cakewalk,” said the second-year coach. “I had so much fun coaching this team, it made my job a cinch.”