AUBURN — Forward Rodgers Crowley said the own goal he set in motion is like poaching.

The North Yarmouth Academy senior came clean when he said he did not score the winning goal that handed the Panthers 1-0 victory over St. Dom’s in a boys soccer game Thursday afternoon.

Crowley triggered the own goal when he kicked the ball at St. Dom’s goalie Riley Daigle during a scramble in front of the net. The ball ricocheted off Daigle and bounced off a Saints defender and into the net with 15:33 left in the game. NYA (7-6) made that 1-0 lead stick.

“I don’t even know what happened,” Crowley said. “It ricocheted a few times off some defenders. I would have preferred if I scored it. It was a great recovery from No. 10 Jack Byrne over there. 

“(Byrne) crossed (the ball) on the ground, and I think I kind of just threw my toe at it and it ricocheted in. It is what poachers do. That is the technical term for it. In Europe, they (say) that’s a poacher’s finish.”

According to an online dictionary, poaching also means  “to take or acquire in an unfair or clandestine way.”

Even though Crowley can’t claim the goal as his own, NYA coach Branden Noltkamper said the goal “was a testament to his work ethic.”

“He has had a couple of tough games in front of the goal,” Noltkamper said. “He just never gave up, got himself in the right position and finished. It was good work for him.”  

There were early signs that the game might go into overtime even though the Panthers dominated on offense with their precision passing.

“I think we pass too much some times,” Noltkamper said. “Credit St. Dom’s. They were very organized off the ball. It was hard for us to break it down. It put us in some tough situations. They are very good defensively. They made us work today. They are very organized, and any time Andrew (Pelletier) is coaching, it is going to be a good team.” 

Noltkamper, a first-year coach, said there have been some ups and downs this season.

“We have good, strong upper classmen,” he said. “We play a tough schedule year-round. It is probably fair where we are at right now.”

Noltkamper said he was proud how of how his team reacted to adversity.

“We just came off a tough loss to to Sacopee Valley a couple of nights ago,” he said. “For any coach, you are looking for a reaction from your team, and I thought we reacted well to everything. I thought we had a good training session yesterday and came in and it showed today.”

What helped keep the Saints’ heads above water was Daigle’s goaltending, who made 12 saves. NYA goalie Tanner Anctil, one of a few former Lewiston High School athletes on the Panthers’ roster, made five saves.

Pelletier said the Saints (3-8-1) held their own for most of the game.

“I thought we were equally as good in the first half,” he said. “The second half, they had a little bit more time on the ball than we did. We’ve played them twice — lost by a goal each time.”

NYA also won the teams’ first meeting 1-0 on Sept. 14.

“The first game was a bad goalkeeper mistake, and my goalie has grown up quite a bit since then,” Pelletier continued. “Then this (game) we got very unlucky in a few run-ups in the play. There was a pretty clear foul and a couple of bad bounces, and the ball ends up in our goal. I thought that was really the only mistake we made all day.”

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