TOPSHAM, Maine — Athletes are known for having good memories of past failures.
Just ask the Bangor High School girls soccer team, which watched last year when Mt. Ararat rolled to a 5-0 regional semifinal win on the top-ranked Rams’ home turf.
On Thursday in a Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference matchup, the Rams took their revenge, scoring three first-half goals en route to a key 3-0 win.
The win was a big one in the Class A North standings. Bangor entered as the No. 2 team, while the Eagles sat at No. 5.
In a game that featured Mt. Ararat’s speed up front against Bangor’s solid defensive unit, goaltending and midfield, the Rams held the 8-3-1 Eagles off the scoreboard for the first time this season.
“They are a good team with a good midfield that steps to the ball,” said Mt. Ararat coach Sam Chard. “They were still stinging from last year’s whoopin’ up there in the playoffs. I knew they were coming down here with a lot of energy. They move well and won every 50-50 ball.”
The Eagles were playing with freshman goaltender Abby Sirois in the cage, with Mt. Ararat netminders Kate Guerin and Sabrina Paetow out with injuries. But in the first 10 minutes, Mt. Ararat pushed the Bangor defense, sending the first three shots toward the Rams cage. Bangor goaltender Emily Gilmore made two saves and watched as Eagles forward Erin Tome just missed on a solid chance from in front of Gilmore’s cage.
Bangor began to push back, and the pressure paid off as Katie Butler collected a bouncing ball in front of the Eagles net and scored for a 1-0 Rams lead with 17:42 remaining in the first half.
“The first 10 minutes of that game were pretty impressive by both teams as the energy and effort were both there, and I thought we were pretty lucky to get the first goal,” said Bangor coach Joe Johnson, whose Rams improved to 10-1-1. “That goal set the tone. They hit the crossbar a bit later, and we came down and scored the second goal. It was big.”
The Bangor lead remained one goal over the next 11 minutes, with Ram forwards Libby Spekhardt and Luci Clein putting pressure on the Mt. Ararat defense. Sirois made three saves, but had little chance when Megan Conner sent a well-placed shot inside the right post with 6:36 left until halftime for a 2-0 Rams lead.
Exactly one minute later, Sarah Bragg finished off a pass from Emma Barnett for a 3-0 Bangor advantage at the half.
Bangor worked to keep Mt. Ararat off the scoreboard, with defenders Lauren Young, Bella Varisco, Maeve Harrigan and Kira Yardley matching the speed of Eagles Tori Pelletier, Ronni Pelletier, Tome and Nikki Bradstreet.
“We did a lot of good things tonight. We lost a defender and had a girl step up [Yardley] and play her best game of the season,” said Johnson. “This was like a playoff game, and was good to see at this time of the year. Mt. Ararat was the fastest team that we have played, and they were able to match our speed all over the field.”
“It was a little bit personal, and we really wanted to redeem ourselves from last year,” said Butler. “This is a big win.”
Bangor finished with a 17-12 shot advantage and led in corner kicks, 6-1. Gilmore had nine saves, while Mt. Ararat went to Vanessa Balser in the second half. She had five saves.