By Kevin Mills,Staff Writer

YARMOUTH – When Josh Muscadin was asked whether he should intervene to choose a shooter for a penalty kick in the first overtime Saturday, the North Yarmouth Academy coach dismissed the thought.

“They don’t even have to talk to me,” said the Panthers coach, who typically lets his kids chose the shooter on a penalty kick and only steps in when asked. “They just went on their own and picked. They knew what to do.”

The players made the correct choice in Scott Carpenter. The NYA junior midfielder fired a high shot to the left side that alluded St. Dom’s keeper Austin Fuller, lifting the Panthers to a thrilling 2-1 overtime win over the Saints in the Western C championship game.

“I was just trying to stay calm mostly,” said Carpenter. “That was the important thing. I just tried to go to the left side because it’s easier for me. I was actually trying to go on the ground, but it went up in the air.”

The penalty kick came with 9:19 left in the first overtime. NYA’s Taki Pilitsis had beaten two St. Dom’s defenders and was knocked down with a hip by a third defensive player. A tripping infraction was called, and the Panthers were awarded the penalty kick.

“You don’t decide a game like that,” said St. Dom’s coach Lee Hixon. “That wasn’t even a scoring opportunity. You give them an indirect inside the area or a direct kick outside the area.”

Hixon vehemently argued the call but did have high praise for the officials for controlling the game. Apart for the game-deciding call, he said it was one of the best officiated games he has seen at NYA. It was the fifth time in the last seven years, and fourth straight, that St. Dom’s and NYA have met in the playoffs. NYA has won all five, including three wins in the Western C final.

“Win or lose, granted I would have liked to have come out of here with a win, but this is the way championship games should be played,” said Hixon. “Right down to the last minute in overtime, but it shouldn’t come down to a PK on a call.”

The 11th-ranked Saints (9-8-1), which graduate four players, battled through injury problems throughout the game. The Saints lost defender T.J. Ustach at times with a hamstring injury and had Matt Barlion playing on a bad ankle. Forward Pat O’Neill left the game after a collision on a scoring chance early in the second half.

Fourth-seeded NYA (14-2-1) had taken an early lead with 23:38 left in the first half. When an NYA shot went wide to the right of the goal, Pilitsis saved it and put it back into the goalmouth for Peter Lowell to put it high into the net.

St. Dom’s picked up its game late in the first half and finished strong.

A Jim Moreau goal with 7:23 tied it. Andrew Allen won the ball in the midfield and fed Moreau on the left wing. His shot went in off the hands of keeper Alex Pilitsis.

The Saints had a pair of prime chances early in the second half. Moreau fed Andrew Gilbert for a shot, and O’Neill made a nice charge on a ball that got by the keeper before he collided with a defender and the ball was cleared.

The Panthers played sporadically in the first half and lost composure at times, drawing a pair of yellow cards. The second half, however, NYA played its possession style more effectively and generated some quality chances.

“I thought we had the momentum in the second half,” said Carpenter. “We were just hoping we’d get one. We had a lot of chances, but I thought it would come.”

Taylor Gorman set up Pilitsis for a redirection at the right post that went wide. Pilitsis also took a pass from Lowell and had a point-blank shot blocked by Fuller. Alex Preston had a bid from the outside and Gorman had a nice shot off a corner and a just missed a try toward the right post.

“Their goaltender made some tremendous saves,” said Muscadin. “He kept them in the game. There was one on a header that I didn’t know how he pulled it off.”

Fuller also got some help from his defense. Tom Gosselin kicked out a shot by Parker Swenson early in overtime.