YORK — York coach Barb Marois finally had the chance to let the emotion which had been building up all afternoon out. She turned to the scoring table and let out a victorious yell.
It was a moment of passion. A telling moment. It was a reflection of her teams’ hard fought 2-1 Western Maine Class B semi-final victory over a Leavitt team that stretched them to the absolute limit.
“This was an extremely emotional game,” said York’s Kathleen Corbin. “It’s really beyond words.”
“(Leavitt) gave us the hardest fight of our lives,” added Taylor Simpson, who scored the game winner off a penalty corner. “This was the biggest fight of our careers and it feels great to get the win.”
The game went through two eight minute overtime sessions and three rounds of penalty corners tied 1-1 before Simpson scored on York’s fourth attempt at a penalty corner to send the Wildcats on to face Spruce Mountain Tuesday at Thornton Academy in the Regional Finals.
Leavitt (12-4) struck first when Kendra Gilbert ripped a drive from the top of the circle which was tipped in by Emily Shaw with 3:47 left in the first half. Shaw’s goal was only the second allowed by York this season.
The momentum seemed to carry over into the second half, as Leavitt maintained early offensive pressure. York finally wrestled the momentum away at about the midpoint of the half, and Simpson passed from the top of the key to Kathleen Cronin, who buried a shot to tie the game at 1-1 with 9:49 left to play.
After a pair of 7-on-7 overtime periods failed to decide the game, it came down to penalty corner. The teams took turns with penalty corner attempts, and if a penalty were called on the offense, or the ball was cleared past the 25 yard line prior to the offensive team scoring, the corner failed and the other team got a shot.
Both York and Leavitt failed on their first three attempts, and York held once again on its fourth defensive turn, setting the stage for Simpson’s heroics.
“I give Leavitt so much credit,” Simpson said. “They played so well and put us in a position we hadn’t been in much at all this year.”
That position, trailing in a game, was one battle that Marois said she was proud to see her girls overcome, the other battle, the pressure with the season on the line.
“I am so proud of these girls for the way they handled this,” Marois said. “I had a feeling this would be a battle and they had to dig deep and deal with, not just coming from behind, but the emotional piece as well, that this could have been their last game.”
For the losers, however, the sting of defeat was clear as Leavitt coaches shed tears on the sideline.
“There’s nothing you can say to make them feel better,” said Leavitt coach Wanda Ward-McLean. “I am so proud of how they played. They just kept battling. It could’ve gone either way.”
Leavitt goalie Sierra Santomango stopped five of the six shots she faced prior to Simpson’s game winner, and York Goalie Olivia Golini turned away four shots, three during penalty corners, to preserve the win.
York moves on to face fellow undefeated team Spruce Mountain (15-0-1) for the Western Maine Championship at Thornton Academy in Saco, on Tuesday.
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