
GARDINER — Two seconds.
That’s how close the Gardiner/Hall-Dale girls lacrosse team was to holding off Bangor in a Class A/B crossover Thursday night at Hoch Field.
But in a scrum in front of the Gardiner/Hall-Dale net, Bangor junior attack Kiersten Daigle pushed the ball past Tigers goalie Leah Shepherd to tie the game and force overtime. Minutes later, Rams midfielder Ainsley Goodwin found room on a breakaway, and her goal gave Bangor a 10-9 victory.
“That’s a huge win for our team, a huge win for all of us,” Goodwin said. “That (goal) was insane. I had a great pass from Lauren (Small) to lead to the breakaway. But it was really led by the team, from the defense up to the offense.”
Daigle led Bangor (8-3) with five goals, while Goodwin and junior midfielder Isabella Fagone each had two goals.
Gardiner/Hall-Dale (8-5) was paced by senior attack Lydia Gero, who recorded three goals and two assists. Junior midfielder Maggie Blais added two goals and an assist. The loss snapped a five-game winning streak for the Tigers.
“As always, I’m super proud of the girls with their grit and their effort,” Tigers coach Jess Prince said. “It just felt like one of those days where we weren’t getting the bounces, the ground balls. I think that’s where we ultimately lost the game, the ground balls. Just a couple of careless mistakes, and I feel like we kind of beat ourselves.”
How did they get here?
• Bangor fell behind 9-8 with 46 seconds left in regulation when Catherine Mansir scored after a pass from Kate Diversi. The Rams collected themselves, kept the offensive pressure on Gardiner/Hall-Dale’s side of the field and finally connected in the closing seconds.
“Our big word (after regulation) was ‘relentless,'” Goodwin said. “I really feel like our team showed (that kind of play) at the end.”
• The Rams were methodical in their passing, moving around the net, cutting and looking for the open shooter, which more often than not turned out to be Daigle.
• Both Shepherd (12 saves) and Bangor’s Finley Sanders (seven saves) were strong throughout the game. Shepherd, in particular, made three key saves when the Tigers were down 8-7 early in the fourth quarter.
What does it mean?
• Though Bangor was 7-3 entering the game, it was ranked 14th in the Class A Heal point standings. The Rams moved up to 12th, just behind three teams with 6-6 records — Yarmouth, Massabesic and Sanford. Bangor has three games left, but only one against a Class A opponent, Oxford Hills (3-8). The Rams also have matchups against Class B Cony (9-3) and Messalonskee (5-6).
“I just feel like we’re so built together and such a family,” Goodwin said. “We truly build off of each other. It was a huge game. Getting a win (like this) with a week left is incredible for us.”
• Despite its loss, Gardiner/Hall-Dale still holds the No. 4 spot in the Class B standings, behind Freeport (10-0), Mt. Ararat (11-0) and rival Cony. The Tigers have just one regular-season game remaining, at Morse on Wednesday.
“I love this group, the effort is always there,” Prince said. “Just felt like the ball didn’t go our way. But they hung in there and did their best.”
Statistical leaders
• Bangor: Kiersten Daigle (5 goals), Ainsley Goodwin (2 goals), Isabella Fagone (2 goals)
• Gardiner/Hall-Dale: Lydia Gero (3 goals, 2 assists), Maggie Blais (2 goals, assist)
Up next
• Bangor: vs. Oxford Hills, 11 a.m. Saturday
• Gardiner/Hall-Dale: at Morse, 4 p.m. Wednesday
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