PORTLAND—The perfect Panthers had the perfect ending Saturday afternoon at Deering High School.

Thanks in large part to a player for the ages.

NYA’s girls’ soccer team, dominant from day one this fall, finished the season with one more decisive triumph over Penobscot Valley in the Class D state final.

Nonpareil senior standout Angel Huntsman set the tone early with a couple goals off corner kicks, then she scored twice more to make it 4-0 before sophomore Emily Robbins added a goal for a 5-0 halftime lead.

The Howlers couldn’t respond in the second half and after Robbins scored for the second time, seniors Michala Wallace and Leah Dube added goals to put it away and the Panthers went on to a never-in-doubt 8-0 triumph.

NYA wrapped up the first 18-0 season in program history, ended Penobscot Valley’s campaign at 16-1-1 and in the process, won its fourth consecutive state title and the 11th Gold Ball in program history.

“It’s been a dream,” said Huntsman. “I couldn’t imagine a better team, a better coach and I’m grateful how we ended it. It didn’t matter who we played, whether it was Yarmouth, whether it was Penobscot. We’re champions today because we play with intensity no matter who we play against. It doesn’t matter what class or what team. That’s how we showed up today.”

Perfection

NYA entered the 2022 season not only looking for a fourth consecutive state title. The Panthers were also chasing perfection after coming oh-so-close in 2021 (when their record was blemished only by a tie against Class B power Yarmouth).

NYA was sensational during a regular season which saw it win all 14 games and outscore the opposition, 63-7 (see sidebar for links to previous stories). The highlight came Sept. 22 at home, when the Panthers beat Yarmouth for the first time in program history and did so decisively, 4-1.

As the top seed in Class D South, NYA wasn’t seriously tested in its playoff run. It did concede the first goal against No. 8 St. Dom’s in the quarterfinals, but went on to an easy 8-1 win. After completely dominating No. 5 Temple Academy (15-0) in the semifinals, the Panthers downed No. 2 Richmond, 7-0, in Wednesday’s regional final in Freeport.

Penobscot Valley, meanwhile, went 13-0-1 in the regular season, tying Penquis Valley while beating everyone else by a composite 89-5 margin. As the top seed in Class D North, the Howlers eliminated No. 9 Fort Fairfield (9-1) in the quarterfinals, edged No. 5 Central Aroostook (2-1) in the semifinals, then downed No. 3 Ashland (1-0) in the regional final.

The schools met in the 2019 Class D state game, a 1-0 NYA win.

That victory was one of the Panthers’ 10 triumphs in 10 previous state final appearances (see sidebar).

Penobscot Valley won three Class B crowns back in the 1980s before losing its lone prior Class D state game appearance.

Saturday, on a beautiful first Saturday in November (an unseasonably wonderful 70 degrees at kickoff), it didn’t take NYA long to seize control.

After Howlers’ freshman goalkeeper Lauryn Smart saved an initial shot from Wallace, then kicked away a bid from junior Hayden Wienckowski, she saved a shot from Robbins before Huntsman ripped a blast high.

The Panthers were only delaying the inevitable, however, and with 30:24 to go in the first half, off a corner kick serve from sophomore Ella Giguere, Huntsman directed the ball into the goal to put her team on top to stay.

“We didn’t honestly know what to expect, so we just wanted to come out fast,” Wallace said.

“We always want to try to score early because we play our best then,” Robbins said.

“You just don’t know until you get rolling,” added NYA coach Ricky Doyon. “Once we got into it, I felt like we could control it.”

After Smart robbed Dube and Wallace missed just high, Huntsman doubled the lead with 20:46 remaining, again off a Giguere corner kick, as she headed the ball into the goal.

“Ella does a great job on corner kicks,” Huntsman said. “I just watch the ball and follow where it goes.”

“It’s an honor to play with (Angel),” said Wallace. “She’s amazing. She makes it fun and pushes us all to do better. We actually don’t practice plays on a corner. Either Angel gets it, or we just go for it.”

The Howlers’ lone first half shot on frame came in the 23rd minute, off a corner kick, as junior Emma Potter sent the ball in, but NYA junior keeper Sarah Moore made the save.

Huntsman then scored for the third time with 16:02 left, taking a pass from Wallace and one-timing a blast high into the net.

After having a shot blocked, Huntsman scored one final time with 7:47 on the clock, senior Anna Belleau made a nice run before crossing the ball over where Huntsman sent it into the net for a 4-0 advantage.

“(Angel) has the knack of scoring,” Doyon said. “She’s just a kid you want on your team. She’s a joy to coach and she’s just a great young lady. What you see is what you get.”

If that wasn’t enough, the Panthers scored one more goal just before the half.

After Robbins ripped a shot off the crossbar, she got a shot off a corner kick and sent it through a screen and in with just 4.3 seconds showing to make it 5-0 at halftime.

NYA out-shot Penobscot Valley, 11-1, in the first half and wasn’t finished.

With 36:37 to play in the second half, Robbins scored for a second time, firing a shot inside the far post that a defender got a foot on, but couldn’t stop.

“It felt good to score in the state final,” said Robbins.

“(Emily) needs to shoot more,” Doyon said. “She’s only a sophomore and she’s the real deal.”

Wallace got in the scoring column with 31:47 on the clock, taking a pass from Wienckowski, then beating Smart to the goalie’s right.

“My goal was to score in my last game,” said Wallace, who produced her team’s 100th goal of the season.

The Panthers rotated a lot of players into the game in the second half and scored one more time, with 6:37 remaining, as Dube scored on a rebound.

NYA ran out the clock from there and at 2:04 p.m., celebrated its 8-0 victory, the second-most lopsided in girls’ state game history (behind only Yarmouth’s 9-0 win over Presque Isle in Class B in 2017).

“The seniors were talking how it was hard not to cry, but it was a rush,” said Wallace.

“It feels really good,” said Robbins. “I think it could be the best NYA team. We all love playing and we all really wanted this. It’s so nice to be with a group of girls who enjoy soccer as much as I do.”

“We wanted to keep playing and at the end, I wanted to get all my seniors in to give them one last hurrah,” Doyon added. “I think this was our best team. We didn’t score as many goals and we let up a couple more, but skill-wise, I think we are.”

The Panthers out-shot the Howlers, 17-2, and got two saves from Moore. NYA also had a dominant edge in corner kicks, 17-3.

Smart made nine saves for Penobscot Valley.

“We knew we were up against, for lack of a better word, a juggernaut team,” Howlers coach Jeremy Durost said. “We absolutely knew this was going to be the biggest test of the year. I’m just proud of the girls for continuing to fight all 80 minutes.”

Graduation will take a huge toll on the program, as a player like Huntsman simply can’t be replaced, but the Panthers figure to be right back in the title hunt in 2023.

“I have all the faith in the team to do it again next year and the year after,” Huntsman said.

“Last year, we were in the same position, losing a lot of seniors, so we just need to keep working like we did this year,” said Robbins.

“Young kids got a lot of playing time in the regular season and the playoffs, so that’s awesome, looking ahead to next season,” Doyon added.

Press Herald staff writer Glenn Jordan contributed to this story.

Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @foresports.

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