Freshman striker Georgie Stephenson scored a pair of second-half goals in the final 9:11 of the game as the Bangor High School Rams rallied from a 1-0 deficit to beat Scarborough 3-1 and win their first girls Class A state soccer championship since 2015 on Saturday at McMann Field in Bath.
Bangor wound up a 17-1 campaign with its 15th straight win.
Scarborough, which beat Bangor 2-0 in last year’s state final, finished at 14-2-2.
After a scoreless first half, Scarborough struck first in the second half on a Maggie Booth goal before Bangor’s Gabby Roy tied it by converting a Clara Oldenburg corner kick with her left foot at the back post.
Roy, a junior, had also scored off an Oldenburg corner in the 3-2 victory over Camden Hills in the A North final.
Stephenson broke the tie with 9:11 remaining by taking a pass, maneuvering through a crowded penalty area and slotting the ball into the corner past the left side of goalkeeper Sophia Rinaldi.
Stephenson added an insurance goal off a Teagan Atherley pass with 1:33 remaining.
Senior Eva Coombs picked up the win in goal for the Rams.
“It was a well-played game by both teams,” said Bangor coach Jay Kemble. “There was a pretty strong wind and they chose to defend the goal that would give them the wind in the first half.
My concern during that first half was playing defense well enough to keep us within striking distance so that when we got the wind in the second half, we’d be able to benefit.”
And that’s exactly what happened.
“We played tremendous, defensively, all day long. We provided pressure. It was probably one of the better games we played all year,” Kemble added. “We limited their opportunities.”
It was the third time this season that the Rams had overcome a 1-0 deficit against a top-quality opponent as they beat Mt. Ararat of Topsham 2-1 during the regular season and previously undefeated Camden Hills in the A North final.
Mt. Ararat was 10-4 during the regular season.
Kemble said that is a testament to his players’ resiliency.
“They don’t show any emotion. They don’t feel defeated. They don’t slump their shoulders. They keep their heads high and stay very positive,” said Kemble. “They had opportunities to score in the first half. I thought we would be able to score a couple of goals in the second half with the wind.”
The victory also exhibited Bangor’s depth.
Leading goal scorers Atherley and Oldenburg were closely marked by Scarborough but Stephenson and Roy stepped up.
“They used a 3-5-2 formation to take away Clara and Teagan in the middle of the field. So I knew we would have to get some contributions from other people if we were going to win the game,” said Kemble. “Our whole midfield, Teagan, Clara and Gabby Gordon were really unselfish. They got the ball to people so they would have the opportunity to score.”