Kristina Kelly had been playing on defense throughout most of her young career, but when Camden Hills High School girls soccer coach Meredith Messer was looking to fill a void at striker, she decided to install the speedy freshman up front.
The result has been dramatic.
Kelly helped lead the Windjammers to their first berth in a state championship game by scoring a team-high 32 goals. Her dazzling run down the left wing and impressive 7-yard shot tied defending state champs Bangor 2-2 with 3:49 left in their Class A North final on Wednesday night. She also had a hand in the game-winning goal scored by Izzy Gutheinz 39 seconds later by making a pass to Kassie Krul, who then passed it over to Gutheinz.
Camden Hills, 16-1, will take on Gorham, 16-0-1, in the state championship at 3 p.m. Saturday at Fitzpatrick Stadium in Portland.
“I’ve been kind of surprised,” said the 14-year-old from Lincolnville. “When I came into the season, I didn’t expect to do as well as I have. But we all worked for it.”
She was pleased that Messer moved her up front.
“I didn’t like playing defense,” said Kelly. “I wanted to become a striker. I wanted to help the team the best way that I could.”
Kelly, who weighs in at 100 pounds, has exceptional speed and skills to go with it.
She has been a perfect complement to highly skilled attacking midfielder Charlotte Messer, who has scored 24 goals and is relentless on the ball.
“She’s fast, she’s aggressive and she has great foot skills,” said senior midfielder Gutheinz.
“Quickness is hard to defend,” said Meredith Messer. “She has great composure in front of the net. She has a great touch on the ball and such good foot skills.”
Kelly is elated to play on such a good team.
“I came from a real small middle school [Lincolnville], and our team wasn’t very good. It’s nice to come to a school with such great teammates,” she said.
Kelly and the Windjammers will have their hands full with a Gorham team smarting from last year’s 2-0 loss in the state championship game.
In the other girls finals, Waterville, 17-0, will take on Yarmouth, 15-1-1, in the Class B final in Hampden at 10 a.m. and, also at 10 a.m., the Class D final will be contested in Portland between 17-0 Ashland and 15-1 Richmond. The other 3 p.m. game will be the Class C final in Hampden pitting 13-1-1 Orono against 11-4-2 Waynflete of Portland.
In the boys state finals at Fitzpatrick Stadium, Bangor (15-1-1) will battle Gorham (16-0-1) at 5:30 p.m. in Class A, and Bangor Christian (17-0) will vie for the Class D crown against Greenville (11-5-1) at 12:30 p.m.
At Hampden Academy, Winslow (16-0-1) will challenge Yarmouth (14-2-1) in the Class B final at 12:30 p.m., and Washington Academy (17-0) will take on Monmouth (14-1-2) for the Class D crown at 5:30 p.m.