LEWISTON — Caden Boone’s header sent Lewiston to its sixth state championship game in the past decade.
Boone’s first-half goal was just enough in the Blue Devils’ 1-0 victory over Camden Hills in the Class A North regional final Tuesday night at Don Roux Field.
“It was the longest 80 minutes of my life,” Boone said. “I have to give props to the other team. Our goal was to score early and play defense the rest of the game, and that’s what we did.”
Lewiston advances to face South champion Deering in Saturday’s Class A state final at Messalonskee High School in Oakland. The Blue Devils played in five state finals in a six-year span from 2014-19, winning three titles (2015, ’17, ’18). All three of those wins were by 1-0 scores.
It was more of the same Tuesday night.
“My blood pressure has been elevated for 80 minutes,” Lewiston coach Dan Gish said. “We adjusted our formation and we went a little more defensive. It was good, and we did what we needed to do. We needed to stay compact and we needed to pressure the ball.”
After a diving save by Lewiston goalie Payson Goyette (three saves) in the fifth minute, shots on goal were limited for the rest of the first half.
“Camden came out strong. They played great on offense after we scored, and before scored — they played great the whole game,” Goyette said. “We did a good job preventing as many chances as we could.”
That was the lone shot on net for the second-seeded Windjammers (13-4) in the opening 40 minutes.
The top-seeded Blue Devils (14-2-1) had opportunities in the seventh and ninth minutes, which both missed the mark. Mohammed Gabow, from 25 yards out, hit the crossbar in the 15th minute.
Boone put Lewiston on the board midway through the first half when he headed the ball off a corner kick into the Windjammers’ net.
“I will be completely honest, I was on the back post, and I just hit it,” Boone said. “I hit it in and it went in. Then I had to run and celebrate in front of the city and everybody.”
Lewiston’s defense did a good job keeping Camden Hills out of the offensive end for the remainder of the first half.
Camden Hills had a header off a free kick into the box go over the crossbar in the first two minutes of the second half.
Windjammers goalie Brian Leonard (nine saves) had two saves in the first five minutes of the second half. After a Lewiston player got knocked down right outside the box in the sixth minute, Abdishakur Nur’s free kick just missed the net.
Leonard came out and made an aggressive save on Tegra Mbele in the 24th minute and then punched a long-distance free-kick attempt to safety in the 18th minute.
On a Camden Hills free kick into the box a few minutes later, Max Pierce’s header just went over the goal.
Midway through the half, tempers flared for both teams, and multiple yellow cards got handed out to players on each club.
“The guys are just fighting hard; they want to win,” Gish said of both teams. “They were battling, we were battling. The two teams, like I said before, the rivalry with them is fun. They bring it to us and we take it back to them. They have a good, quality squad, and they have a lot to be proud of.”
Goyette had quick reflexes on a line-drive free kick that got deflected by a Camden Hills player to keep the game 1-0 in the 23rd minute.
“They had that open, quality look, and he stopped it,” Gish said of Goyette. “He was positioned well. His reactions were good.”
Gabow had an opportunity to add an insurance goal for the Blue Devils with around 10 minutes to play after the ball bounced around the box, but his shot hit the crossbar.
“He tattooed that crossbar,” Gish said of Gabow. “I thought it was going. He had a good look, and he took it.”
Cam Brown almost got the equalizer in the 35th minute, but his shot inside the box sailed over the net.
Goyette said the wind did play a factor throughout the entire game, which affected how the ball traveled.
Charlie Pons’ 32-yard free kick in the final two minutes went wide of the frame. Camden Hills had another free kick, from 60 yards out with 15 seconds remaining, that bounced around the box before Lewiston cleared the ball to end the game.
“Camden is great at free kicks,” Goyette said. “You have to be prepared. And the ball kept floating into the (6-yard box), and I was doing everything I could to get it out.”
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