PORTLAND—Revenge was on the menu when North Yarmouth Academy’s girls’ soccer team traveled to Fore River Fields to battle rival Waynflete Tuesday afternoon.

And it wound up tasting delicious to the Panthers and even came with a cherry on top.

The No. 1 seed for the upcoming Class C South playoffs.

NYA, which won the past four Class D titles before moving up in class, had a long unbeaten streak snapped late last month at home at the hands of the Flyers and the Panthers wasted no time turning the tables.

Just over three minutes in, off a corner kick serve from junior Ella Giguere, classmate Lyla Casey sent the ball home for a quick 1-0 lead.

Waynflete, which was every bit NYA’s equal yet again, answered in the 32nd minute, when senior standout Lucy Hart was taken down in the box, then converted the ensuing penalty kick.

The game would remained tied until 14:41 remained, when Casey buried a beautiful blast to put the Panthers ahead for good and they went on to a 2-1 victory.

NYA ends the regular season with a record of 10-1-3, ensured the road to the regional title will go through the Panthers and in the process, NYA dropped the Flyers to 9-5 and the third seed in the region.

“The motivation was there,” said Panthers coach Ricky Doyon. “That was our first loss in three years. It wasn’t fun, but we needed a taste of that. The girls were ready to go today.”

High stakes

Back on Sept. 29, senior Morgan Earls’ goal in the second overtime gave Waynflete a 1-0 victory at Lewis Field, snapping NYA’s 46-game unbeaten streak. As soon as that thriller came to an end, both teams were looking ahead to the rematch.

Both squads have enjoyed solid seasons, as they’ve jockeyed with defending regional champion Maranacook in the Class C South standings.

The Panthers opened with a 5-0 victory at Sacopee Valley and settled for a scoreless draw at Freeport (in a game in which only a half was played due to the lights not coming on). NYA then dispatched host Lake Region (3-2), visiting Old Orchard Beach (5-0), visiting Gray-New Gloucester (3-0), host St. Dom’s (2-0) and visiting Traip Academy (3-0) before settling for a 1-1 home tie against Class B South power Greely. After losing to Waynflete, the Panthers battled visiting Yarmouth, the reigning Class B champion, to a 1-1 draw, then defeated visiting Morse (2-1), host Traip Academy (2-1) and host Monmouth Academy (5-0).

Waynflete, meanwhile, started with home wins over Traip Academy (2-1) and Hall-Dale (3-0). After a 4-1 home loss to Greely, the Flyers earned a 2-1 overtime win at York and blanked visiting Old Orchard Beach (8-0). Waynflete then lost at reigning Class B champion Yarmouth (3-2), at Freeport (2-1) and at St. Dom’s (2-0) before stunning NYA. The Flyers then defeated host Gray-New Gloucester (3-0), Fryeburg Academy (6-1) and Traip Academy (5-0) before handling visiting Sacopee Valley in their most recent outing, 9-1.

Tuesday, on a pleasant mid-October afternoon (57 degrees at kickoff), in arguably the most impactful NYA-Waynflete showdown since the 2009 Western Class C quarterfinals, the Flyers sought their first season sweep of the Panthers since 2015, but instead, NYA finished on a high note.

Three minutes in, the Panthers earned the game’s first corner kick and it paid big dividends, as Giguere served the ball to the back post where Casey was waiting to run on to it and body it past Waynflete sophomore goalkeeper Ayla Stutzman for a quick 1-0 advantage.

“We were fired up,” Casey said. “That goal definitely gave us a lot of momentum and encouragement. Ella served it up and I just got my body there.”

“I was looking for (Lyla) 100 percent because I know she’ll attack the ball,” Giguere said.

Stutzman then kept her team in it by making a terrific save on a shot from senior Hayden Wienckowski, set up by classmate Graca Bila, then stopping a low blast from freshman Natasha Godfrey.

After NYA freshman back Charlotte Matusovich broke up a rush from Hart and Hart was denied by Panthers senior goalkeeper Sarah Moore, Godfrey got a great look on the doorstep, but Stutzman made the save.

Moore then made a save on a deflected Hart shot, but with 8:53 remaining in the first half, Hart got a step on a defender in the box, was tripped up and a penalty kick was awarded.

Hart stepped to the line and fired a hard shot to the right of the diving Moore and into the net to tie the score, 1-1.

After freshman Naomi Rice and Hart both missed wide, the game went to the break deadlocked.

And there wouldn’t be much separation in the second half either until Casey stepped up huge.

Five minutes into the second half, Stutzman saved a Bila shot and Godfrey’s rebound, with the goalie out of the picture, hit the side netting.

Junior Emily Robbins then lofted a shot on frame that handcuffed Stutzman, but she held on for the save.

After Matusovich broke up a promising pass from Earls to Rice, Moore had to dive to save a left-footed one-timer from Hart.

After Casey just missed wide, Godfrey raced in and got the ball past Stutzman, but sophomore back Liza Lawson blocked the shot at the last moment.

Casey then had a shot saved with 21:46 remaining, but her next bid found the mark.

With 14:41 on the clock, Casey got the ball in the middle of the field, at the top of the box, and despite being surrounded by three defenders, she managed to get a sliver of room and get the ball on her right foot before sending a high blast past Stutzman and in for the lead.

“Coach tells me to just kick the ball and trust my instincts, so I just looked and hit it,” Casey said. “I was trying to go high and it felt very good. I surprised myself.”

“(Lyla’s) coming into her own,” said Doyon. “When she started to get some goals, she realized she could do it. She’s working hard and taking shots and you can see her confidence grow.”

Down the stretch, Giguere broke up a pass from Earls to Hart and after Stutzman made a diving save on a Wienckowski bid to keep Waynflete’s slim hopes alive, Moore punched away Earls’ pass to sophomore Lucy Olson.

NYA ran out the clock from there and at 5:05 p.m., was able to celebrate, avenging its only loss in the past three seasons, 2-1.

“Going into this, we knew it would be a hard game,” said Giguere, who went to Waynflete in grade school and is the younger sister of former Flyers standouts Arianna and Lydia Giguere. “It was a difficult challenge to hold them off. We got the hang of dropping back and clearing the ball. We’ve hyped ourselves up all week. We showed how well we can play together. Personally, it feels great. I have a lot of connections here and it feels good to beat them. There’s definitely a rivalry. It’s a good win.”

“It was nice to win in regulation time,” Doyon said. “We didn’t want to go to overtime. We’ve done enough of that. I have to say, (Waynflete) looked really good today. They moved the ball well. It was some really good soccer.”

The Panthers finished with a 10-5 advantage in shots on frame, got four saves from Moore and took four corner kicks to the Flyers’ none.

Waynflete got eight saves from Stutzman, but fell just short.

“We just didn’t have it today,” said Carrie Earls, who co-coaches the Flyers along with George Sherry. “Kudos to NYA for capitalizing on their chances. We started the game sleeping a little bit and they made us pay. After we tied it, I thought we dominated possession and I thought we had the better play, but they do their strengths well. They have speed and physicality. They came in and wanted it and they got it today. The winning goal was a beautiful strike. Not much Ayla could have done there.”

Buckle up

It’s possible the Flyers and Panthers could meet in the regional final, but both teams have work to do first.

Waynflete will host a quarterfinal round playoff game next Tuesday or Wednesday, likely against Traip Academy, a team the Flyers beat twice this fall, 2-1 at home and 5-0 in Kittery.

“We know Traip well,” said Carrie Earls. “We played a much harder schedule this year to make us battle-tested. We’ve gotten important wins. We need to lock in for 80 minutes. That’s it.”

NYA will be idle until hosting a quarterfinal round game next week, likely against Sacopee Valley or Mountain Valley. The Panthers opened with a 5-0 win at the Hawks and didn’t see the Falcons this season.

“We just need to stay focused and stay strong and keep playing like we’re playing,” said Giguere.

“We prepared ourselves for this,” Doyon said. “We have something to prove. Even losing eight seniors, we have a quality team. It’s time to do our thing.”

Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net. For game updates and links to game stories, follow him on Threads: @foresports2023

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