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AUGUSTA — The way the Maranacook girls soccer team claimed the second Gold Ball in program history was very similar to the first one four years ago.

As was the case when Maranacook defeated Bucksport in the 2021 state final, the Black Bears hadn’t quite slammed the door on Fort Kent on Saturday despite dominating the first half. Then, in the second, the Black Bears dominated, pulling away for a 5-0 win in the Class C championship game.

“There’s so many similarities with those teams, which makes it special,” said Maranacook coach Travis Magnusson. “It’s so hard to get here; in our 45-year history, we’ve only gotten here four times, and that’s all been in the last seven years. To get here and win, it feels amazing.”

Evelyn Stevenson scored the opening goal in the first half for Maranacook. Seniors Phoebe Bell and Celia Bergdahl then scored two goals each for the Black Bears after the break.

South champion Maranacook (16-1-1) outpossessed and outran Fort Kent early. Stevenson and Caroline Harper routinely beat Fort Kent down the flanks, and with the midfield limiting the Warriors’ touches, Maranacook produced a couple early scoring chances.

The Black Bears converted one of those chances with 26:55 left in the first half. Bell chased down a cross that was a little too high after a run down the left, collected the ball near the sideline and found Stevenson, who slotted the ball into the right corner.

“They were playing a pretty high defense right on the goalie, and I saw Phoebe and backed up a little bit,” Stevenson said. “I was just able to get there right in time for that through-ball.”

Although Fort Kent (13-4-1), the C North champion, improved as the first half went on, the Black Bears regrouped at the break and doubled their lead on Bell’s first goal five minutes into the second. Then, with 27:44 left to play, Maranacook went up 3-0 as Bergdahl scored directly from a corner kick.

“We had a great halftime talk, and that really flipped a switch for us,” Bergdahl said. “The first half, we were a little bit nervous — we came out with lots of energy, but it kind of died off — but second half, we knew we needed to pick it up.”

Bergdahl’s goal was the first brilliant goal for the Black Bears in the second half. Seven minutes later, Bell twisted and turned her way through the Fort Kent defense and fired the ball home for her second. Then, with 17:20 left, Bergdahl scored from outside the box to round out the scoring.

Maranacook, which put 11 shots on goal to Fort Kent’s one, simply won every battle. The Black Bears were first to every ball, routinely dispossessed the Warriors and easily cut off the few runs into their final third.

“We keep saying with this team that they play their best when their best is needed, and they did it again today,” Magnusson said. “Every playoff game, we’ve played better and better and better.”

Trinity Daigle made six saves for Fort Kent, which fell in the state title game for the third consecutive year. The Warriors lost 4-0 to North Yarmouth Academy in last year’s Class C championship after falling 1-0 to Waynflete in 2023.

For Maranacook, though, a Gold Ball marks the perfect end for this year’s senior class. As freshmen, the Black Bears’ 2026 class lost a 2-1 heartbreaker to Bucksport in the Class C final, and after failing to return to this stage as sophomores and juniors, they finished the job Saturday.

“Coming back from freshman year when we had this opportunity, and it didn’t go how we wanted it to, coming back and getting it our senior years is amazing,” Bergdahl said. “Nothing beats the feeling.”