The Class A ladies soccer state closing has develop into a rivalry recreation – The Portland Press Herald

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OAKLAND — Some issues in life, you simply know. You’ve got a sense. Name it your intestine, or name it expertise. Typically you simply know one thing goes to occur.
The Bangor Excessive ladies soccer staff didn’t want a sixth sense or a Magic 8-Ball to guess how the season would play out. The Rams anticipated that in the event that they made it by their Class A North schedule gauntlet, Scarborough can be ready for them within the state championship recreation. They’ve thought as a lot since going through Scarborough within the preseason.
“We simply sort of knew we’re going to see them once more,” stated Bangor senior again Avery Clark, certainly one of her staff’s captains.
Occam’s razor, proper? The only rationalization is the probably. Once you’ve considered possible state championship matchups in Class A ladies soccer lately, you’ve considered the Rams and Pink Storm.
Saturday’s championship recreation, gained 1-0 by Bangor, was the third consecutive Class A ladies soccer closing between the 2 groups. It’s the second time in 15 years that Bangor and Scarborough have met in three straight state championship video games. Saturday’s win gave Bangor back-to-back state titles after Scarborough gained it in 2023. Once they met in 2010, 2011 and 2012, Scarborough bookended a pair of wins round a Bangor title in 2011.
Saturday was Scarborough’s 10 look in a state closing within the final 15 seasons. For Bangor, it was the eighth journey in that span. The faculties are roughly 140 miles from one another, and there’s no assure they’ll play one another in any season, other than preseason video games they typically schedule. Nonetheless, it’s a rivalry. When the Gold Ball is on the road each time you play, in fact it’s a rivalry.
“We all know it will likely be a aggressive recreation. It’s a recreation we work towards all season. Clearly, the state championship is the perfect we will do,” stated Bangor senior midfielder Clara Oldenburg, one other one of many Rams’ captains. “We sort of understand it’s going to be Scarborough, as a result of for 3 years, it has been. It’s only a recreation we look ahead to.”
Oldenburg had a hand within the recreation’s solely aim. Her shot late within the first half was stopped by Pink Storm keeper Vera DiSotto, however the rebound went on to the proper foot of Bangor’s Georgia Stephenson, who couldn’t ask for a greater scoring alternative and planted the ball within the web.
Final 12 months as a freshman, Stephenson scored a pair of goals in Bangor’s 3-1 state final victory. Future generations of Scarborough households will inform story tales about her. In case you don’t eat your veggies, Georgia Stephenson will get you.
Jay Kemble simply accomplished his third season as Bangor’s coach. His staff has confronted Scarborough within the state closing every time. After the sport, he stated all the things a coach ought to say. You’ll be able to’t look forward. You’ll be able to’t assume something. You’ll want to do all of the little issues to perform the massive issues.
That’s all true, however if you happen to deal with enterprise within the North, it’ll in all probability be the Pink Storm ready on that closing Saturday of the season. You see their scores all season. You recognize they see yours.
“We don’t fear about that till we win that Northern Maine championship. We play the southern colleges a lot in the summertime (and) preseason,” Kemble stated. “You perceive their fashion of play, their physicality, who’s the higher gamers and what their roles are.”
Relating to Bangor and Scarborough, there isn’t a finest staff, Oldenburg stated. It’s who is healthier in that recreation? Which staff makes fewer errors and performs with extra depth?
“These are two issues that we will management. Though we labored all season, we need to make sure that we will management the issues we give attention to,” she stated. “We really make an inventory of issues we will management and give attention to. If we’re disciplined and do these issues, it can come round.”
This 12 months, the maybe-once-a-season rivalry went to the Rams. You recognize each groups are already wanting ahead to subsequent 12 months.
Travis Lazarczyk has lined sports activities for the Portland Press Herald since 2021. A Vermont native, he graduated from the College of Maine in 1995 with a BA in English. After a couple of years working as a sports activities… More by Travis Lazarczyk
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