Family members line up along the sideline to congratulate the Hall-Dale boys soccer team after they beat Wayneflete in a Class C South semifinal game Saturday in Farmingdale. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

FARMINGDALE — Hall-Dale High School soccer fans experienced both victory and defeat on Saturday afternoon in Class C South semifinal action.

In boys soccer, No. 1 Hall-Dale beat No. 5 Waynflete 4-2, sending the Bulldogs to the regional final. In the late afternoon, the No. 2 Hall-Dale girls played to a 3-3 tie with No. 3 North Yarmouth Academy. After two overtimes, the Panthers edged the Bulldogs 2-1 in penalty kicks.

In the boys game, Jaxon Olsen led Hall-Dale (14-2-0) with two goals, while Karter Eldridge and Keegan Cary added goals for the Bulldogs.

“It feels amazing,” Olsen said. “After last year, losing to Winthrop in the first round, it feels good to come back and get a redemption year. Especially (beating Waynflete). They come out hard every time you play them.”

Lucas Plumb scored both goals for the Flyers, who finish 7-8-1.

The Bulldogs led 2-0 at halftime, and 3-1 midway through the second half. Up 3-2, Eldridge scored the final goal for Hall-Dale, putting the game away.

“We felt confident (coming into the game), we beat (Waynflete) once in the regular season,” Eldridge said. “We’ve got guys who can score. We knew we could do it.”

It was a long-sought victory for Hall-Dale, which has lost in the quarterfinal round of the C South playoffs each of the past three seasons.

“The boys worked very hard,” Hall-Dale head coach Jesse Rowe said. “Every year we watch other teams make it through to this moment. It’ll be nice to represent the (Mountain Valley Conference) and central Maine.

“We’re starting to play good soccer,” Rowe continued. “We had to bring a good brand of soccer. At this time of the year, you’re playing the best, so you’ve got to play your best. It’s coming together.”

“This year, I feel like we wanted it more,” Olsen said. “We’re focusing a lot on possession and bringing everyone up. We’re on the same page, and that’s hopefully getting to states and winning.”

The Hall-Dale boys enter regionals on a five-game winning streak.

Hall-Dale’s Julia Nott, left, and NYA’s Natasha Godfrey cast long shadows as they play in a Class C South girls soccer semifinal game Saturday in Farmingdale. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

In the girls game, Marie Benoit scored two goals and had an assist in regulation for the Bulldogs (11-1-4). Benoit also tallied Hall-Dale’s lone goal in penalty kicks while Sophia Murch added a goal for Hall-Dale.

Murch tallied the first goal of the game with 28 minutes left in the first half, knocking a deflected Benoit shot into the net to give the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead. NYA (13-3-0) responded with consecutive goals, one by freshman midfielder Ellie Seely, the other by sophomore forward Natasha Godfrey, to give the Panthers a 2-1 lead with 15 minutes left in the half. A minute later, Benoit scored her first goal of the game to tie it at 2-2, where it remained until halftime.

NYA put the offensive pressure on throughout the second half, giving Hall-Dale goalkeeper Sierra Gibbons a workout with seven shots on net. With 7:42 remaining, Panthers forward Lyla Casey received a cross from Emily Robbins and nailed it past Gibbons for a 3-2 lead.

“The girls played so well,” NYA head coach Ricky Doyon said. “We pressed. We released our backs and they were in part of the play because we don’t play sweepers all the way back, we’re pushing (forward).”

The game seemed destined to end, but a slide tackle on a loose ball by Panthers goalkeeper Sadie Morgan gave Hall-Dale a penalty kick, and Benoit struck the ball into the far right corner of the net to tie the game at 3-3.

“I’m very proud,” Hall-Dale head coach Tatum Hancock said. “They left it all on the field today, and that’s all we ever ask.”

Benoit made the first penalty kick for the Bulldogs, but would prove to be the only Hall-Dale player to do so. NYA tabbed junior midfielder Cami Casserly, who had been on the bench the entire game, for a penalty kick try, and she nailed a shot into the back of the net to tie it at 1-1. Moments later, Giguere, a senior back, nailed a shot to the left corner of the net to end the game.

“I am so excited,” Giguere said. “I was just trying to picture (a successful kick). It’s 1-1, I just need to focus, imagine where I’m going. I visualized it, shot it and it was the happiest moment ever. Senior year, we’re going to regionals, and I just love this team.”

The Bulldogs fell to the Panthers 5-2 in the semifinals last season.

“It’s a pretty special group of girls,” Hancock said of her team. “A group who have been together for a while and wanted to have a great season and be successful, and they did just that.”