DIXFIELD — The bitter disappointment was evident on the faces of the Dirigo boys’ soccer players, but it was quite opposite from the competitiveness displayed on the field throughout their Class C quarterfinal game.

A goal by Mohamed Dahia midway through the first proved to be enough as No.7 North Yarmouth Academy relied on a strong defensive effort in a 1-0 upset over No.2 Dirigo.

The Panthers (7-6) advances to play Georges Valley in this weekend’s semifinals.

The teams’ style of play was sharply different, but this created plenty of interesting sequences. North Yarmouth displayed a skillful control game with a strong passing attack that was deliberate. Dirigo kept the ball airborne and was willing to take more chances.

“We certainly had opportunities,” Dirigo coach Dennis Hanson said. “But, I believe that’s the best 7-7 team in the state. We knew we had a tough draw with NYA of the Western Maine Conference. Still, we held our own and all it came down to was one unmarked goal.”

NYA was extremely quick and it led to Dahia getting a shot on goal.

The Cougars adjusted their defense and had four players back in an effort to disrupt the offensive pressure. This included Dylan Castonguay, Cliff Turner, Cody St. Germain and Jeremy Remeika who were rotating going after the ball.

The Panthers had a free kick from just inside 16 yards and the ball deflected off a Cougar defender. Dahia was positioned on the doorstep and booted the ball past the legs of sophomore Caleb Turner (eight saves), with 18 minutes left in the first half.

“We came out strong,” Dahia said. “We pushed the ball and really wanted to win. I thought we were able to move the ball around very well.”

Dirigo refused to go away and early in the second half, Tyler Gates had an open header that went wide right. Eric Bolduc ground kick was cradled by Panther goalie Dylan Seely (five saves).

“I realize the kids are disappointed and are talking over what went wrong,” Hanson said. “But, one game does not define a season, so there is no need to hang their heads. The team won 12 games during the season and Bolduc had the most assists in the state and Gates had the second most goals. We scored 58 goals, but just couldn’t get any in the MVC Championship game or today.”

The Cougars had other scoring chances. Gates hustled after a loose ball, but the ball sailed high. Midfielders Alex Milledge, Hunter Ross and T.J. Frost pounded the ball inside. Bolduc was unmarked by the right post, but his header sailed over the cross bar with 23 seconds left in the game.

“It was a battle,” NYA coach Mike Dutton said. “We respected Dirigo because they were undefeated and they played us very hard. This field took a while to get used to because it is smaller and tighter and our home field, which is artifical turf.”