HERMON, Maine — When senior striker/midfielder Savannah Allain left Wednesday’s game against undefeated Presque Isle with a leg injury, Hermon High School girls soccer coach M.J. Ball sent in sophomore Chloe Raymond.
He told her to play high up the field and to position herself between Presque Isle’s two center backs because they were going to try to play the ball through to her.
Fifty-six seconds later, Megan Howes threaded the ball to Raymond, and she broke free before tucking a low 12-yard shot into the far corner to Flynn’s left to give the Hawks a 1-0 victory.
Both teams are 8-1 after Hermon avenged a season-opening 4-1 loss in Presque Isle. The Wildcats remained atop the Heal Points standings, while Hermon climbed to third.
“It worked magically,” said Ball, whose team controlled the play thanks to senior midfielder Claire Petersen.
Hermon kept the Wildcats on the back foot throughout the game.
The goal came with 17:29 remaining in regulation and was Raymond’s second of the season.
Brianna Saulter started the sequence that led to the goal as she sent it up to Howes 30 yards from the Presque Isle goal.
“There had been a lot of pressure in the back but, all of a sudden, [the ball] went to me on the outside. I saw Chloe in the middle, I pushed it up to her, and she had a breakaway,” said Howes.
“I stayed in the middle, and after I got it, I looked up and saw a defender and I saw the goalie [Jillian Flynn] coming out at me. So I aimed for the far corner,” said Raymond.
Ball said the team had been working on passing combinations to beat Presque Isle’s offsides trap.
“It was a really good combination to get forward,” Ball said of the sequence.
Presque Isle, which spent most of the half in its own end, played with a sense of desperation and began generating some scoring chances in search of an equalizer.
Hannah Graham missed the net with a couple of well-struck free kicks, then her throw-in led to a glittering chance by Taylor Williams in the middle of the penalty area, 10 yards from goal.
The ball bounced across the area, and Williams spun around and drove a powerful shot that hit well-positioned goalkeeper Hailey Perry in the hands.
“I was really nervous,” said sophomore Perry, who noted that Williams had plenty of zip on her shot. “I said, ‘Oooh, Lord.’ That’s why I didn’t catch it. I just tried to keep it in front of me. That was my job, and I did it.”
“That was a crucial save,” said Ball.
Hermon finished with 25 shots at goal to Presque Isle’s three.
Flynn made 15 saves in an impressive performance to keep her Wildcats in the game.
Petersen curled a left-footed blast from the top of the penalty area off the crossbar with 11:50 remaining, and Raymond headed the rebound wide.
Perry wound up with two saves.
Alex Allain, Saulter and Petersen dominated the midfield.
“They’re fantastic. To have just one of them would be great but to have three of them is even better,” said Ball.
Backs Morgan Buck and Emi Higgins limited Presque Isle’s forays into the attacking third.
“We definitely wanted revenge,” said Saulter. “We played really well.”
“You have to give Hermon credit. They played real well,” said Presque Isle coach Ralph Michaud. “We were too defensive-minded. We were back on our heels. After they scored, we became more offensive, and we played a lot better.”
Midfielders Graham and Williams played well for Presque Isle as did striker Jordi Legassie.