HAMPDEN – The North Yarmouth Academy girls soccer team had been through this championship-game pressure before, so the Panthers refused to let an early 1-0 deficit get them down.

Instead they responded with three goals within a 14:52 span of the first half and went on to a 3-2 victory over Madawaska in the Class C state final Saturday at the Weatherbee School complex.

“After they scored that first goal, it was just back to business for us, concentrating on our game plan and not worrying about one goal because there was a complete game left to play,” said NYA coach Jeffrey Thoreck. “The girls showed a lot of maturity that way.”

The win earned 16-2 NYA its third consecutive state title and fifth in the last seven years. Madawaska finished 15-3 after making its first appearance in a state final since 1999 – when the Owls fell to NYA by an identical 3-2 score.

“We were very happy to get this far; we haven’t gotten this far in a long time,” said Madawaska senior defender Andrea K. Cyr. “We’re proud of that, and no matter what the outcome, we were going to leave happy. It would have been good to get the win, but we’re happy anyway.”

The Owls were real happy early in the match after scoring on the game’s first shot on goal. Sarah Nadeau centered the ball from the right wing to Ashley D. Cyr, who passed to her left to sophomore Nicole Daigle. Daigle then blasted a high shot past NYA goalie Emily Staszak from about 15 yards out 8:03 into the match.

NYA responded with immediate pressure and tied the match 11 minutes later. Freshman Cayla Marvil was left alone to receive a crossing pass from Erin Lachance and scored on a 10-yard shot from the left side of the goal area.

The Panthers took the lead with 10:32 left in the half on a strong individual play by junior midfielder Alex Mack. Mack dribbled the ball down the right wing to the goal line, then headed toward the net. Madawaska goalie Liz LaPlante came out to challenge, but Mack made a dribble move past LaPlante and scored from close range.

Liz Culver set up NYA’s final goal, dribbling through the middle of the Madawaska defense and passing on her left to Marnie Briggs, who redirected the ball inside the near post with 6:02 left in the opening period.

“They came out fast,” said Madawaska coach Dan Cyr. “We got an early goal that helped our confidence, but they tucked it in behind us a few times and we had to recover.”

Madawaska closed within 3-2 with 25:46 left in the match off a corner kick by Jamie Nadeau. Nadeau’s kick sailed into the goal crease, where an unmarked Beth Gerard tipped the ball into the net from the 6-yard line.

The Owls had a couple of modest opportunities later in the game, but NYA’s defense prevented Madawaska from creating any sustained late-game offense.

“We came out a lot more aggressive in the second half,” said Gerard. “We weren’t winning the balls, and we needed to win them if we were going to come back. We came out more aggressive because we knew it was our last game.

“We had some chances, but we didn’t finish. They’re a very good team, a skilled team.”

NYA finished with a 10-7 edge in shots on goal, with LaPlante making seven saves and Staszak making five stops.

“Madawaska came out and played a tremendous second half, they put a lot of pressure on,” said Thoreck. “Going into halftime we talked about not going so defensive, to maintain our offensive attack knowing that team wasn’t going to quit. To Madawaska’s credit, they played a complete game, but in that second half, they really put a lot of pressure on.”