BANGOR, Maine – Sometimes, all it takes is one loss to fuel a team’s fire even more.
The Waterville girls soccer team, which lost to Bangor 2-1 in two overtimes earlier this season, had payback on its collective mind Tuesday afternoon.
The defending Class A state champion Purple Panthers exacted their revenge, as Abbie Webster and Jordan Pellerin scored second-half goals less than four minutes apart in a 2-0 victory over the previously unbeaten and top-ranked Rams.
“It was a huge uplift, we were really exciting going into [this game],” said Pellerin. “We worked hard at practices after our last game against them. We were determined to prove a point that we could beat them.”
Both teams are 8-1-1.
Bangor and Waterville both had ample scoring chances in the first half, but goalkeepers Mia Smith for the Rams and Cara Rousseau for Waterville kept the ball out of the back of the net, while both teams’ back lines kept attackers at bay.
Panthers senior Kayla Tuttle marked Rams freshman Grace Maclean tightly all afternoon.
Maclean scored both goals in the earlier meeting between these Class A heavyweights.
“We were very aware of [Maclean]. She’s got a great left foot and it was all we could do to kind of hold her in check,” Waterville coach Ian Wilson said.
Maclean and her teammates did struggle to find open scoring chances in the offensive third, and when they did, Rousseau was right there to thwart opportunities or the ball would sail just wide.
“When you get opportunities against Waterville you’ve got to put it in the back of the net,” Bangor coach Joe Johnson said. “Down there, they went in. Up here they didn’t go in.”
Maclean did break in cleanly at one point in the second half while the game was still scoreless, but Rousseau came up with the save. An open shot by Bangor’s Ashley Robinson in the first stanza sailed just over the net.
The Panthers took advantage of their own chances in the second period. Pellerin sent a perfect through-ball to Webster, who broke in clean on backup ‘keeper Meri Wicks, who replaced Smith (shoulder injury) in the second half, and chipped the ball home with 15:49 to play in regulation.
Pellerin scored an insurance goal four minutes later, maneuvering around a couple Bangor defenders and sliding a perfectly placed shot past Wicks and inside the right post.
The Panthers’ back line, fueled by Tuttle and freshman Melanie Bureau, kept the Rams from applying heavy pressure.
“We really focused on defense this game because we were pretty good offensively,” Webster said.
Since Bangor has a wide arsenal of offensive weapons, the Panthers went with a 4-4-2 (four defenders, four midfielders and two strikers) alignment and pushed up the field whenever they could.
“You can’t have a wide-open game against Bangor. They’re too dangerous to really push a lot of people forward,” said Wilson.
Both teams were fairly even as Waterville had a 16-13 edge in shots.
Wicks, who had six saves in the second half (Smith came up with three in the first half for Bangor), played extremely well in a pressure-packed situation, making a few point-blank stops.
“Meri was awesome to step into that situation and to make the saves that she did,” Johnson said.
He feels that Smith’s rotator cuff should be OK.
It’s possible there could be a third matchup between these teams down the road with even bigger stakes.
“It’s certain we could see each other in the semis or finals,” Wilson said. “Bangor and Waterville play some pretty good soccer.”
Rousseau finished with five saves for Waterville.
