LEWISTON — It became a game of what ifs, almosts and missed opportunities for the Lewiston and Maranacook girls soccer teams Tuesday evening under the lights.
But it wasn’t a game of disappointment.
Maranacook had beaten Lewiston 1-0 earlier in the season, but both teams just couldn’t settle their second meeting, which ended in a 0-0 tie after two five-minute overtimes.
The Blue Devils and the Black Bears took turns dominating the game. Maranacook was ferocious in the first half and spent of most its time in front of Lewiston’s net.
Lewiston senior goalie Gemma Landry (nine saves) stood and delivered, never wavering to the Bears’ constant pressure in the first half.
“I actually can’t go to our next game because I am driving down to Ohio to see family out there,” Landry, whose aunt died, said. “I knew this was my last high school varsity game, so I needed to have a good game — at least.
“I thought our defense played great. We missed a few scoring opportunities, but that’s OK. It was fine in the end.”
“She is just a spectacular goalkeeper, to me,” Lewiston coach Jeff Akerley said. “The best goalkeeper I’ve had on a team, and I have had a lot of good ones. She is just so sound, so aggressive. The girls have a tremendous amount of confidence in her and they have a tremendous amount of respect for her.”
Maranacook senior center back Evelyn St. Germain said her team turned in an impressive performance.
“We came out so hard. Our energy level was just awesome,” St. Germain said. “We knew this was going to be a huge game, and to not have them win, was huge. They are a great team. They have so many talented players.”
The Blue Devils stepped up their game and pressured the Bears for most of the second half.
“We made some adjustments at the half,” Akerley said. “I think the girls recognized that Maranacook was going harder to the ball and winning most of the 50-50 balls. We weren’t being aggressive on the ball. I like how my girls came out in the second half. They were really more aggressive to ball. They played more physical. They started stringing some passes together.
“We started with a new formation today. I thought we needed that new formation against Maranacook because they are a strong team. In the second half, I just said, ‘Hey, let’s just settle down. You’ve got this. We just need to pick up our intensity because their intensity is better than ours.’ The girls made those adjustments at the half. I am very proud of how they played against a very good Maranacook team. I don’t want to take away anything from Maranacook.”
Black Bears coach Travis Magnusson entered Tuesday’s contest expecting a tight game.
“We’ve had a great season,” he said. “So we are undefeated for the year. We have been mostly playing A and B schools, so we are 7-0-2 now. I think part of it was we had to win the first half. They had to win the second half.
“They are a great team. I have been looking at their scoring and they have been very competitive. They have had a lot of big wins. We are happy with this game and we are happy with the way we played.”
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