BANGOR, Maine — It always helps to score the first goal in a high school playoff soccer game, and the Bangor High School girls wasted little time denting the scoreboard in their Eastern Maine Class A quarterfinal against Mt. Blue of Farmington on Wednesday night.
Senior striker Alli Boulier scored 2:54 into the game, and the top-seeded Rams went on to post an impressive 5-1 triumph over the ninth-seeded Cougars amidst intermittent showers.
Mary Butler, Bangor’s other senior striker, expanded the lead 17:33 later, and senior left midfielder Eve George sandwiched a pair of second-half goals around Boulier’s second.
Caitlin Kane capped the scoring for Mt. Blue.
Defending four time Eastern Maine titlist Bangor (13-0-2) entertains No. 5 Mt. Ararat of Topsham in Saturday’s semifinals. The 9-4-2 Eagles upset No. 4 Hampden Academy 2-1.
Bangor beat Mt. Ararat 2-1 in Topsham on Sept. 25.
“This was probably our best game of the year,” said Butler. “It’s all coming together for us. Alli’s first goal really set the tone for this game. I’m glad we scored it right off.”
Butler set up Boulier’s first goal and 23rd of the season after receiving a pass
from Maddie Cormier. Butler’s pass bounced off a defender to Boulier as she darted down the right side of the penalty area.
“Mary fed a good ball up, it hit the defender and got over her, and I was able to get in,” said Boulier. “It was very wet so I was able to slip through. The goalie [Addie Schanz] was coming out, and I put it near post.”
Bangor coach Joe Johnson said scoring first is important, “especially in the playoffs and under these conditions.”
“We played well. We possessed the ball well. I was worried about the slippery field, but the girls handled it well,” Johnson said.
Maeve Harrigan set up Butler’s goal with a long pass that took a fortuitous bounce.
“Maeve played it from the back, and it skimmed over one of their defender’s heads,” said Butler. “I got a good bounce, I was able to get to the ball, and I put it far post.”
It was Butler’s 25th of the season.
“On those first two goals, they played the ball long, and we weren’t able to do anything with it,” said Mt. Blue coach Fred Conlogue. “That set the tempo for the game.”
Bangor outshot Mt. Blue 14-2 in the first half.
George extended the lead just 4:26 into the second half when she sliced left to right across the penalty area and deflected a diagonal cross from Cormier past Schanz.
“I was trying to beat the [defender] on the outside and, luckily, I was able to get my foot on it,” said George. “I didn’t expect it to go in. I was trying to cross it, but it went in the
corner.”
Boulier made it 4-0 3:46 later when Emma Barnett’s cross deflected off George across the goalmouth, and she drilled it into the open net from four yards out.
“Those two goals took the wind out of our sails,” said Conlogue.
George notched her second by converting a cross from Helen Zhang.
Kane curled her goal in from the top of the penalty area with 9:49 left.
Bangor’s back line of Harrigan, Grace Morris, Maddie Symonds and Lauren Young turned in an exceptional performance, aggressively winning balls to prevent the Cougars from mounting much of an attack.
Emily Gilmore wound up with three saves on five shots before Page Cadorette and Maddie Hodgdon finished up by stopping two of six shots.
Shanz made nine saves on 21 shots before Sarah McGhee came on and faced one shot without having to make a save.
“We played our hearts out,” said Cougar senior midfielder Hope Thompson.
“They’re a really good team,” said Bangor’s George.
Bangor had beaten Mt. Blue 4-2 in their regular season finale.