PORTLAND, Maine — The Fort Kent Warriors played championship-level defense throughout Saturday evening’s Class C girls soccer state final.
But it was Sacopee Valley’s relentless attacking ways that endured in storybook fashion, with senior stopper Olivia Ruhlin scoring her first varsity goal with 13:13 left in the second half to lift the Hawks to a 1-0 victory at Deering High School.
“I’ve literally been asleep and had a dream that I scored the state-championship winning goal,” said Ruhlin, “and then I wake up and I’m like, ‘Well, my job is to create opportunities on the field and that’s OK with me.’ I never thought that would happen, and I can’t describe the happiness I feel.”
The title was the first for Sacopee Valley of South Hiram since 2010, when the Hawks defeated Fort Kent in overtime.
Fort Kent, making its third state-final appearance in the last five years, finished 10-5-3.
“Sacopee played very, very well,” said Fort Kent coach Robby Nadeau. “They possessed well out of the back and they kept the ball off our feet and sustained a lot of pressure. When you have that type of pressure, eventually one’s going to pop through and one did.”
Sacopee Valley (14-2-3) dominated play for the majority of the contest but were stymied by a stout Fort Kent defense anchored by senior goalie Alexa Pelletier, who made 14 saves.
“We were talking about patience at halftime and it paid off,” said Sacopee coach Kevin Murphy. “They didn’t get rattled, they didn’t get worried.”
That patience was rewarded somewhat suddenly after a McKenzie Murphy corner kick, when Ruhlin gained possession near the edge of the penalty area and one-timed a shot inside the left post.
“Normally I hang back near the 18 for any rebounds that come out,” she said, “but my team is usually really good at cleaning up those corners that come back so they don’t need me because I’m so far back.
“Fort Kent has a very strong, well-packed in defense and one of the girls rebounded it out and I happened to be there. I knew their goalie was amazing so in that quick minute I thought, ‘I’m not going to blast it, I’m going to aim for whatever corner I could see,’ and that’s what I tried to do.”
Fort Kent’s best late chance to counter came with five minutes left, a 30-yard free kick by Sadie Desjardins that Sacopee Valley goalie Madison Day (three saves) steered away as it approached the left post.
Sacopee Valley — which finished seventh in the fina Western Maine Class C Heal points — controlled the majority of the first half but had little to show for it.
That’s because Fort Kent defenders Desjardins, Allie Daigle, Kendra Raymond and Jessica Morin remained well positioned to clear the ball away when challenged, with Pelletier coming up big along the goal line when the ball did get through.
Pelletier’s best moment of the half came 12 minutes into the match when Sacopee Valley’s Courtney Ryan was sent in ahead of the defense and got off a straight-away shot from the 18-yard line that she blocked away with a dive to her right.
Fort Kent’s best bid of the period came three minutes later, when Danielle Pelletier took a pass from along the right wing and drilled a straightaway, high-velocity shot that forced Day to her knees to make the save.
“I thought the defense played well,” said Nadeau. “We probably needed to possess a little better in terms of keeping the ball off their feet. It seemed our touches were a little off. We were thinking the right things but the touch would go to (Sacopee’s) feet.”
Fort Kent got off to a quick start in the opening minutes of the second half, but soon Sacopee Valley was back on the attack.
“They were very determined,” said Nadeau of Sacopee Valley. “They won a lot of balls, a lot of the 50-50 balls were theirs. They really wanted it here tonight, it really showed. Not to take anything away from our girls, I think our girls played a great game but they put themselves in position to win the ball where the ball was going and they did a good job of that.”
