SALEM — They were so close they could taste it.

Ever since that bitter defeat in overtime last fall, the Mt. Abram boys’ soccer team had relived that day, hoping for another chance.

The Roadrunners got that opportunity Tuesday and didn’t disappoint.

Mt. Abram overcame two-one goal deficits and held off North Yarmouth Academy in a 3-2 victory in the Western C semifinals.

The Roadrunners host Carrabec in Saturday’s regional final.

“It’s amazing,” said Mt. Abram goalie Andy Sperry. “Since last year, we’ve had this in our minds the whole time. We knew what we had to do. Everybody stepped it up in the second half.”

Mt. Abram watched the Panthers score twice against the wind in last year’s semifinal. NYA tied the game with 8:38 left in regulation, and won it in overtime.

“The motto in preseason was Eight minutes left'”,” said Mt. Abram coach Darren Allen, whose club has also borrowed the Boston Red Sox slogan “Why Not Us?”. “That’s how much time was left when they scored and tied it up.”

Sam Witherspoon had scored both goals in last year’s 3-2 loss and had a pair Tuesday, including the game-winner on a penalty kick with 16:04 left in the first half.

“It’s redemption,” said Witherspoon. “Revenge is so sweet. We suffered a tough loss last year after being up on the same team going into the second half.”

NYA spent much of the second half threatening again, but couldn’t make history repeat. The Panthers outshot Mt. Abram 9-2 in the second half but also let frustration effect composure. NYA lost Scott Carpenter and Peter Lowell, both key parts of the offense, with yellow cards.

“At the end of the day, you’ve got to rise about that and we didn’t,” said NYA coach Ben Graham, who also got a yellow card in the second half. “I thought they were waiting for someone else to step up. I thought we moved the ball and connected well. I thought they thought someone else was going to do it. It’s something I was scared of all season. It’s just one of those things.”

NYA took the early lead. A bad clear in front allowed Taylor Gorman to score from a scramble 3:14 into the game.

Mt. Abram got that back just over two minutes later. A throw in was redirected by Sam Dyar toward the net. Witherspoon was there to head it in.

“That was big,” said Witherspoon. “They came out hard, and we looked like we didn’t even know what to do.”

NYA made it 2-1 with 19 minutes left when Parker Swenson settled the ball in front and converted. The Roadrunners came back again when an Aaron Adams’ free kick was mishandled by the keeper. Jordan Norton put it in with 16:55 left in the half.

Just 51 seconds later, NYA was called for holding well away from the ball, giving the Roadrunners a penalty kick. Witherspoon beat NYA keeper Jason Kroot with a high chip shot.

“We was cheating to the side I like to go to,” said Witherspoon. “He was cheating to the left. So I knew he was going to go left. I actually tried to go lower right corner, but I ended up kicking it straight. I got lucky. He overcommitted, and it went in.”

NYA had headers by Carpenter and Charley Stetson that Sperry saved in the first half. The Panthers kept the pressure on but couldn’t beat Sperry.

“I was having flashbacks from last year and hoping it wouldn’t happen again,” said Sperry. “The defense stepped up.”

The win was the first semifinal victory since Mt. Abram beat Georges Valley, 2-1 in overtime, in 1990. The Roadrunners lost to St. Dom’s in the final, 4-1.

“In my opinion, this is the biggest win for the program – ever,” said Allen. “It’s been 14 years since (1990). There’s been numerous coaching changes. To lose 16 guys from last year’s team, this is totally unbelievable. To lose them and be in this position is astounding.”