LEWISTON — Charlotte Cloutier had a lot of time to think about her missed opportunity at a goal in Lewiston’s regular-season finale.

She also had a few moments to ponder her chance to make amends in double overtime of Saturday’s Class A North girls soccer prelim, and she didn’t miss with the game on the line.

Cloutier took a couple dribbles then rolled a shot to the left of Brewer goalie Bella Tanis to give the eighth-seeded Blue Devils a 2-1 victory at Don Roux Field.

“I was thinking I knew I missed the EL goal, (a) PK (that) was really big (on Tuesday), so I knew I needed to come back from that because I’ve been down on myself for a while,” Cloutier said. “So I just thought, ‘Take a breath, you got this, just place, not power, and you’ll do good.’

“I really thought she had it because it was right in her hands, and it was a just a little bit too hard for her to catch, I guess.”

Tanis, a freshman, had frustrated the Blue Devils (4-8-3) most of the game, stopping 16 of 18 shots.

“From the first time we played them, at the start of the season, she really improved a lot,” Lewiston coach Jeff Akerley said, referring to a 2-1 Brewer victory in the regular season. “She was solid in goal. There were maybe one or two that she bobbled, but everything else she was confident, solid handling the ball.”

Tanis made her presence known early, making a diving save against Leah Dube a little more than 10 minutes into the game, and then charging out to stop a Cloutier chance less than two minutes later. She also made a diving stop against Lilly Gish with one second left in regulation.

“She’s been big all year. We wouldn’t be in the playoffs without her, there’s no question,” Witches (4-10-1) coach David Hamel said. “You saw it. She’s awesome. She makes some special saves. She does things that just amaze me.”

Gish gave the Blue Devils a 1-0 lead with just under 15 minutes to play in the second half, heading in a cross over a charging-out Tanis.

“I just saw the ball cross, and it was in the air, and I knew that the net was right there, obviously, so I just headed it, hoped for the best,” Gish said. “We really just needed to put one in, and I think it helped us out a lot.”

The ninth-seeded Witches tied it up with 5:01 left when Morgan Honey fought through a defender before poking a shot past Lewiston goalie Gemma Landry, who came charging out for the loose ball.

“Morgan does that. She’s an athlete, she’s fast, she’s big, she’s good with both feet,” Hamel said. “She’s calm. Couldn’t say that a couple years ago, but she’s grown into that (striker) position.”

Brewer nearly scored again a minute later, but Charlee Laffey’s 30-yard direct kick went off the crossbar and a rebound header went high. It was the second time a Brewer shot went off the bar. For Lewiston, Dube had a shot go off the corner of the frame late in the first overtime.

Landry finished with nine saves for the Blue Devils, whose first playoff win in recent memory earns them a quarterfinal matchup on Tuesday against top-seeded and three-time defending state champ Camden Hills.

“We’ll do the best we can against them. They’re a great team,” Akerley said.

Copy the Story Link

« Previous

Local roundup: Leavitt football rolls past Morse to complete unbeaten regular season

Next »

Girls soccer: St. Dominic edges Carrabec in Class C South quarterfinal