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AUBURN — The Hall-Dale boys soccer team patiently waited for three days for this game. Then, the last 15 minutes felt like hours.

After going up two goals midway through the second half of the Class C South championship game, the Bulldogs got everything they could handle from Mt. Abram. Somehow, Hall-Dale survived — and now it’ll try to defend its Gold Ball on Saturday.

Hall-Dale defeated Mt. Abram 2-1 in Tuesday’s regional final at Edward Little High School. The reigning state champions advance to face North champ Orono in the state title game Saturday at Cony High in Augusta.

“We played (in the semifinals) Saturday, and since then, it’s been a long wait,” said Jesse Rowe, in his eighth season as Hall-Dale’s coach. “There’s expectations and a lot to carry when you’re the defending state champions because you get everybody’s best shot. I’m very proud of these guys; they played for each other.”

In what was a largely uneventful opening 15 minutes, Mt. Abram seemed to be the stronger of the two sides. Yet top-seeded Hall-Dale (15-1-1) gradually improved over the next 10, and with 10:49 left in the first half, Karter Eldridge scored with an assist from Collin McArthur to give the Bulldogs the lead.

“I was looking on the wing, and Collin had the ball, and he put a perfect ball right to me,” Eldridge said. “I had a decent first touch, and I put it in. All credit to Collin, because that was an amazing ball.”

No. 2 Mt. Abram (11-3-3) missed an opportunity in front of goal with five minutes left in the first half. Then, with 25 minutes left in the second half, Hall-Dale was awarded a penalty kick, and McArthur’s shot to the left side caught Mt. Abram goalkeeper Owen Cook flatfooted.

With 12:04 left, Hall-Dale keeper Landon Gilbert stepped up to deny Mt. Abram’s Chase Ross from the spot after the Roadrunners were awarded a penalty kick of their own. Gilbert made a point-blank save moments later, but with 6:03 to go, Killian Pillsbury found the net to make it 2-1.

Hall-Dale spent the next six minutes defending furiously. Mt. Abram made a few pushes into the attacking third, but the Roadrunners were unable to execute their final corner kick and the Bulldogs celebrated their second straight Southern Maine championship.

“On the rebounds, (it was about our defenders) coming out and being able to block the angles, stopping any corner shots and just allowing me to collect that,” Gilbert said. “My outside backs and my center backs were stopping those outside cuts as they were trying to get all over on the corner shots.”

Cook made six saves for Mt. Abram, which lost the regional final to Hall-Dale for the second consecutive season (they also lost 2-1 in 2024).

This C South championship game was an expected clash of behemoths. Mt. Abram won the state title in 2023 before Hall-Dale’s run to the Gold Ball last year. The close physical game was exactly the kind of contest Rowe, Eldridge and Gilbert were anticipating.

“I’ve got to give credit to Mt. Abram because, for us, they’ve been someone we’ve tried to play like and emulate, and they’ve brought out a lot of good soccer in us,” Rowe said. “This was their fifth straight year playing in this game, and they played a great game. I’m very happy they gave us the game they did tonight.”

The experience from last year’s run, Eldridge and Gilbert agreed, paid dividends for the Bulldogs. Although Hall-Dale is missing many of the faces from a year ago, the veteran presence of Gilbert, their stalwart keeper, and Eldrige, last year’s state title-winning goal scorer, was evident.

Now comes a date with Orono (16-0-1), which outlasted Mount View in a marathon penalty shootout in the North final. The Bulldogs will be well-represented at Cony, located just 6 miles from Hall-Dale Middle & High School.

“It’s going to be awesome; I can’t wait,” Eldridge said. “Hopefully, we can go back-to-back.”