Two goals on the scoreboard and an extra player on the field.
It looked, sounded and seemed like it should have been enough to ensure a cakewalk to the finish for the Lisbon girls’ soccer team Tuesday afternoon.
But Kayla Angelico’s penalty kick for her second goal of the Western Class C quarterfinal galvanized visiting Hall-Dale while perhaps encouraging Lisbon to let down ever so slightly.
No. 1 Lisbon gave up one goal and fought off several bids by No. 8 Hall-Dale for the equalizer before advancing with a 2-1 triumph.
“They were down a player after a red card,” Lisbon coach Jake Gentle said of Hall-Dale, “but they kept playing hard and we didn’t really respond after our second goal.”
Lisbon (13-1-1) will host a semifinal game at 2:30 p.m. Friday against either Waynflete or Wiscasset.
Angelico gained the free shot at Hall-Dale goalkeeper Meagan Cope after a somersaulting throw-in by Gabby Ouellette set up an almost certain goal.
Certain, except for the hand ball by a Hall-Dale defender to keep Lisbon’s shot from bouncing into the net. In addition to the penalty kick, by rule, the Bulldogs’ player was ejected.
“The hand ball was right on the line. It was definitely going in,” Gentle said.
Hall-Dale (9-6-1) didn’t go away. The Bulldogs closed the lead in half when Lilly Ly converted a feed from Andrea Fredericks with 18:12 remaining.
“They had some more chances after that. They pressured us. We had to hold them off,” Gentle said.
Lisbon won 2-0 at Hall-Dale in the third game of the season.
“They’ve gotten a lot better,” Gentle said. “They used the same 4-3-3 formation, but they did a good job switching fields and a nice job marking everybody on Gabby’s flip throws.”
Angelico gave the Greyhounds a 1-0 lead in the 13th minute of the game.
The senior touched the ball past a Hall-Dale defender and raced in alone against Cope (eight saves).
Cope kept the lead from growing, denying Renee Samay-Houle’s blast from six yards and another Angelico offering from just inside the 18.
“She made a couple of great point-blank saves,” Gentle said.
Lisbon’s Courtney Martel stopped four shots.
koakes@sunjournal.com
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