Haley Brown scores a goal in the waning seconds of regulation to chase the Lakers.
RANGELEY – Rangeley girls’ soccer coach Susan Hamilton expressed gratitude over her team having one of the school’s most successful seasons ever. The Lakers came up just short, however, of extending things in a Western Class D semifinal game Tuesday.
A goal by junior Haley Brown with 29 seconds remaining in regulation was the difference as Richmond advanced to its fourth straight regional final with a hard fought 1-0 win.
The goal was somewhat controversial, as the home clock operator claimed that time had expired, but official Malcolm Gill’s watch still showed nearly half a minute.
No. 3 Richmond (7-6-1) lost to Waynflete in the 2002 regional final.
The game was played under sunny skies, but field conditions were wet due to recent heavy rain.
Both goal creases resembled mud pits, and several players took nosedives in their pursuit of the ball.
“We knew it would be a battle,” Sarah Coonradt of Richmond said.
“This team has a lot of heart. We figured the field would be muddy, and on the ride up our goalie (Heather Martin) was concerned about it being muddy. We told her not to worry.”
On the goal, Jasmine Lambert gathered the ball in on the left side and passed to Brown, who was advancing deeper in the crease.
Rangeley goalie Justine Frost-Kolva (seven saves) elected to remain back, and Brown booted the ball high into the net.
No. 2 Rangeley (9-3-1) had several opportunities but was unable to finish off shots in the offensive end.
“Both teams played a solid game,” Hamilton said.
“Our goal coming into the season was to battle ’til the end and never give up. I feel we accomplished it. I moved (Sarah Schrader) up from striker in order for her to get more touches on the ball. We just failed to convert.”
Rangeley tried different rotations up front with Amber Schinas, Raina Eustis, Ashley Quimby and Sarah Simonds in the mix. Richmond opened the game with shots by Brown and Lambert, but defenders Kelly Brooks, Katie Drosdik and Megan Hughes countered the barrage.
The game statistics ended up fairly evenly in scoring chances and corner kicks, with Richmond owning a modest 15-14 edge in shots.
“In the second half things went better for us,” said Richmond coach Troy Kendrick. “The girls settled down, and we were able to use a little more ball control on offense. This was a nice way to close the game out.”
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