Freeport-NYA girls settle for draw after lights fail to come on

YARMOUTH—The Freeport and North Yarmouth Academy girls’ soccer teams were in the process of putting together an exciting contest Tuesday evening at the Joan Benoit Samuelson Track and Field, but after a hard-fought, scoreless first half, the lights never came on and the game was eventually called due to darkness.

It will go in the books as a 0-0 draw and the Falcons and Panthers will split the Heal Points

Excessive heat affecting the power box was believed to be the culprit.

“I remember in the past, when it gets too hot, that box burns out and that might have happened tonight,” said Falcons coach Dave Intraversato. “It was a great game, back-and-forth.”

“It’s been a long time since we’ve had a challenging game like that,” said Ricky Doyon, coach of the four-time reigning Class D champion Panthers. “We were looking for that. It was a very good test.”

No resolution

NYA produced arguably the finest season in program history a year ago when it went 18-0, outscoring the opposition, 101-8, and beating Yarmouth for the first time. The Panthers won their fourth straight Class D state championship with ease, blanking Penobscot Valley, 8-0, in the final. Program legend Angel Huntsman, along with several other key contributors graduated, and NYA has moved up to Class C this fall, but the Panthers expect to play into November again and they opened in style with a 5-0 victory at Sacopee Valley last Thursday.

Freeport reached the Class B South quarterfinals last season, losing to eventual state champion Yarmouth, 2-0, to wind up 7-8-1. The Falcons expect to be much improved this year and they started with an impressive 3-0 victory at Gray-New Gloucester.

The teams hadn’t played a countable game since a 6-0 Freeport victory Oct. 2, 2015.

This time around, NYA hoped to make it 31 straight victories and extend its unbeaten streak to 40 games, while the Falcons hoped to hand the Panthers their first loss since Oct. 21, 2020 (3-1 at Yarmouth).

Instead, neither side got a victory.

Or a loss.

Instead, it wound up a tie.

Freeport came out strong, hoping to score first, but in the third minute, senior Pearl Peterson, after taking a nice pass from senior Taryn Curry, was robbed point blanked by NYA senior goalkeeper Sarah Moore.

In the fifth minute, senior Luci Bourgeois crossed a promising ball through the box, but no Falcon could get a body part on it.

The Panthers got their first good look in the ninth minute, as off a corner kick, junior Emily Robbins got her head on the ball, but it sailed over the crossbar.

With 19:10 to go before halftime, Moore denied junior Claire Nadeau.

Four minutes later, after a scrum that saw Moore come out and leave a lot of goal to shoot at, senior Rosie Panenka sent the ball high.

With 14:38 left in the half, Panenka sent a pretty back heel pass to Peterson, but her shot was saved by Moore.

NYA’s best chance came with 5:45 on the clock, as junior Ella Giguere sent a 40-yard blast on target, where it deflected off Freeport senior goalkeeper Amanda Panciocco and off the post, but Panciocco managed to fall on the loose ball to keep the game scoreless.

When the contest went to halftime, the lights had not come on and the sky darkened by the minute. After the 10-minute break, there was still no sign of light and after a 25 minute delay, when it became clear there would be no lights, the contest was called.

The only light at the Joan Benoit Samuelson Track and Field at halftime comes from the scoreboard. The stadium lights never went on and the contest was called.

Both coaches lamented not getting a goal in the first half and not being able to earn a victory against a strong foe, but each said their team got something positive out of the abbreviated experience.

“We had more shots, but not on frame, so we’ll work on that,” Intraversato said. “We talk about getting the ball deep. It would have been nice to get the game in because (NYA) will be worth some (Heal) Points down the road.”

“We were able to test out where we’re at against a very good team,” said Doyon. “We tried to move the ball a little bit. We had to defend and our goalie had to work hard as well. We saw places that we know we can improve on and areas we’re doing alright.”

Long road ahead

Freeport is at Morse Friday, then has a huge test Tuesday of next week at perennial powerhouse Cape Elizabeth.

“I like this group,” said Intraversato. “Skill-wise, it’s one of the best teams I’ve had and we’re very deep. We have a lot of mature seniors leading the way. When we have some younger kids out there and we don’t miss a beat. I think we can play with anybody. Yarmouth and Cape have always been at the top and it’s been hard to get past them, but I think if we work hard and trust each other, we can go far.”

NYA returns to action Thursday at Lake Region. The Panthers host Old Orchard Beach Friday.

“So far, I’m pleased with our progression,” Doyon said. “I think we’ll continue to improve. I’m looking forward to the rest of the season. I think we can be competitive with our schedule.”