BANGOR – The most recent Heal Point Ratings place Bangor at the top of the Eastern Maine Class A girls soccer standings, but Hampden Academy cast a dissenting vote here Tuesday afternoon.

Nori Francis-Mezger’s goal with 9:27 left in the match lifted the Broncos to a 1-0 win over Bangor in their regular-season finale, assuring Hampden a home match in the first round of the regional playoffs.

“We’ve been getting better every day,” said HA coach Dewey Martin. “We had a lot of confidence coming into this game. We felt like we could play with anybody.”

The win also avenged a loss to Bangor earlier this season.

“We had more intensity than we’ve had all year, because obviously we’re always up for Bangor,” said Hampden senior midfielder Annaliese Lafayette. “They’re kind of a rival so we really stepped it up for this game compared to how we played in our last game against them.”

Bangor, 11-2, had its nine-match winning streak halted, and with one regular-season match left against Old Town this week, the Rams still figure to earn a first-round bye as one of the top three teams in the division.

“I think we played about average,” said Bangor coach Larry Smith. “We’ve certainly had stronger games, and in some games we haven’t played this well but we’ve come out ahead. I thought the girls played well enough to play even with them. It’s just that they got the goal and we didn’t.”

Bangor had a 14-12 edge in shots, with each team’s best chance coming about two minutes apart late in the match.

Bangor worked the ball into the Hampden end and put a shot on goal that was headed for the back of the net, save for the presence of Broncos’ defender Lindsey Spencer, who was able to direct the ball away. Bangor’s Jessie Roberts quickly got to the rebound, but was off-balance as her shot missed the goal.

“It was a little lapse in the defense,” said HA junior back Lauren Maltz. “I think everybody’s heart skipped a beat on that one, but we pulled through and got it out.”

Moments later, Hampden sophomore Lindsay Martin worked through the middle of the defense to put a shot on Bangor goalie Ilyse Angst. Angst blocked that shot, but the rebound went to Francis-Mezger, whose shot from the left side went into the open net for the deciding goal.

“Lindsay Martin did a great job getting the ball down there,” said Francis-Mezger. “She had a really nice shot that the keeper blocked, and I was there to clean up the garbage, I guess.”

Angst finished with eight saves, while Hampden goalie Michelle Wells made nine stops. Wells was aided by a defense that featured the marking of Abby Tarbel-Reynolds, Jenna Shue and Kathleen Macone.

“Our defense has improved a lot since the beginning of the year,” said Lafayette, “and they did an awesome job on all of Bangor’s star players. We had great defense the whole game and then we had an awesome finish up front.”