BANGOR – The senior members of the John Bapst girls soccer team celebrated the final home regular-season game of their careers Monday afternoon. Sophomore goalie Caroline Cassling even gave them flowers for the occasion.

The bigger present would come 80 minutes later as the Crusader seniors did something they hadn’t done in their four-year careers – they beat Hampden Academy.

Seniors Kourtney Lipka and Elaine Colwell combined to score the only goal of the game, lifting the Crusaders to a 1-0 victory over the Broncos at the Bangor Mental Health Institute field.

“It’s definitely awesome,” senior back Katie Andrle said. “This is a perfect last home game, definitely.”

Although the win was emotional – the girls cleared the bench and hugged in the middle of the field after the final buzzer – the Bapst team was seeking something even more important.

The Eastern Maine Class B Crusaders, now 9-3-1, are hoping the win over Hampden, now 10-3 in Class A, will put them at No. 4 in the Heal Point rankings. If they can stay there, they can avoid a four-hour bus trip to Fort Kent in the playoffs, which start next week. That’s assuming the Warriors finish fifth or sixth.

“It was a good win for the team,” Bapst coach Ken Wood said. “This should bump us up to third or fourth, and that means we won’t have to make the long ride up north.”

Both Hampden and John Bapst had to contend with strong wind gusts, and both teams battled and made runs up and down the field.

But with 5:07 left in the first half, Lipka and the Crusaders took advantage of one of their best chances.

“It was just two teams playing hard and whoever was there at the right time,” Wood said. “That’s exactly where Kourtney was. We preach [to] them, go to the post and go to the goal, and if you’re there good things will happen.”

The play started with a crossing pass by senior wing Colwell, who was at the right post. Hampden goalie Becca Workman (13 saves on 14 shots) had the ball in her hands but it dropped behind her.

Lipka chested it down to her feet and kicked it in.

“I really couldn’t have done it without Elaine,” said Lipka, who was moved from midfielder to striker this year. “Her cross was sweet. I was just there. [Workman] tried to save it but I got it.”

The Broncos had several chances in the second half, including four corner kicks, but had trouble putting shots on goal or past Cassling.

“We played the way we wanted to play the game,” Hampden coach Dewey Martin said. “We got the ball out wide and sent a lot of nice crosses in. We just couldn’t get the ball on the net. You’ve got to put the ball on the net.”

Cassling made 11 saves on 11 shots.

For Wood, games against Martin are also a bit of a rivalry matchup. The two have coached against each other for several years at the youth travel level.

“We’ve been going at this now for about 10 years,” said Wood.

JV: Hampden 1-0