Wilson’s first-half goal lifts Gorham by Bangor Team concludes successful transition to Class A

BATH – After the Bangor girls soccer team found out its opponent for Saturday’s Class A state championship team, the mother of midfielder Erin MacDermott tracked down results from Gorham’s previous games this season.

The opposition’s strength was pretty obvious from what Bangor gleaned from the research.

“Everything started with her name,” Erin MacDermott said of Gorham center midfielder Kelsey Wilson. “So we knew a lot about her. I brought this stack of paper two inches thick to practice one day and we all read over it. It said her name over and over again.”

Wilson, the same Gorham player who scored two goals in last year’s Class B state final, came through again in Saturday’s Class A state final. She recorded the game’s only goal with 8 minutes, 26 seconds left in the first half to lift Gorham to a 1-0 victory over Bangor at Morse High’s McMann Field.

It was the first time a Bangor High girls or boys soccer team was playing for a state title. Bangor wrapped up its season with a 15-3 record.

The outcome represents a successful transition season for Gorham, which moved to Class A this fall and graduated nine seniors last spring.

But just because Gorham was playing in a larger classification, had two freshmen in the starting lineup, and lost its first game of the season didn’t mean the expectations were any less.

Those were the driving forces in Gorham’s 16-1 season.

“It was hard because we lost our first game but after that we were even more determined to win,” Wilson said. “We wanted to get back here again.”

The game was the fifth Class A state final in a row to be decided by a 1-0 score.

Wilson’s goal was her 34th of the season, and it came off a crossing pass from freshman right wing Rachel Burns.

Burns, who sat for a stretch with a bloody nose, crossed the ball into a crowd of players in the penalty area.

Wilson happened to be one of those players, and she booted a high shot into the corner of the net.

“There was nothing the goalie could have done,” Wilson said of Bangor’s Ilyse Angst, who was screened on the play. “There were people in front of her and it was right into the corner. There were people everywhere in the box, so I had to get the ball off really quick.”

Gorham outshot Bangor 5-1 in the first half, but things were more even at 6-4 in the second.

Bangor had a number of good chances in the final minutes, especially as midfielder and leading scorer Jessie Roberts tried to break free in the penalty area. She pushed a ball past Gorham goalie Luci Pike, but sweeper Caitlyn Butterfield ran along the goal line to clear it out with about 3:15 left.

Roberts also sent a crossing pass to the right post with 8:10 left, but there were no Bangor players in position to take a shot.

“I think the first 20 minutes they really played a lot in our end. After that we settled in and were fairly threatening the last 10 minutes of the first half,” said Bangor coach Larry Smith, who was in his first year at the helm of the program.

“It was just a well-fought contest by both teams,” he added. “I’m very proud of our girls and how they played. I think a couple of inches either way on our chances and it’s tied, and who knows what happens.”

Gorham stopper Nicole Robitaille drew Bangor striker Serena Dubois as a defensive assignment. Dubois had five goals in Bangor’s three regional games.

“My job was to stay on her. It was tough,” Robitaille said. “I needed to stop her no matter what.”

Smith, however, didn’t think the defense was anything Dubois couldn’t handle.

“We just needed to possess the ball upfield and play in their end a little more,” he said. “They did a good job of stopping us from doing that.”

Angst finished with nine saves, while Pike had three.