WINTHROP — Brittany Carrier’s three goals led top-seeded Buckfield to a 4-0 win over No. 3 Monmouth Academy in the Class D South girls soccer championship game Tuesday at Winthrop Grade School.

The Bucks (14-1), who scored twice on penalty kicks, will face D North champion Penobscot Valley in Saturday’s state final.

“It’s surreal being here, being on such a beautiful field,” Bucks coach Annette Caldwell said. “I saw Monmouth play St. Dom’s, and Monmouth really plays with a lot of heart, and I told them that it’s really tough to beat heart, and that you guys have got to come out and bring it, and they did. They played with heart, going after the ball, trying to be first to the ball.”

Carrier scored two goals in the first half — at the 20- and 37-minute marks — after going one-on-one with Monmouth defenders on a breakaway each time.

“It was crazy; I was making runs and just took the shot,” Carrier said.

Caldwell said Carrier is an amazing athlete who works hard, even outside of team-regulated practice hours.

“She was practicing this weekend, finding turf to practice on, she’s just so committed,” Caldwell said. “She’s an amazing athlete, and an amazing person, but they’re a unit. That’s what we’ve been trying to sell all year, is that if we stay together as a unit, and we don’t get offended by outside things, we just stay focused, locked in and be who we are.”

The unit mentality, led by the team’s 11 seniors, has worked well, Carrier said, and the on-field cohesion has improved even more since the beginning of the season.

Cora Brewster scored the third Buckfield goal on a penalty kick, after Monmouth (8-9) was called for a push on the back. Carrier topped off her hat trick with a penalty kick with 14:37 remaining in the game.

Brewster said she usually goes for the high corner on her penalty kicks, but decided to take it low Tuesday night due to Monmouth goalkeeper Lily Carlton’s height.

Monmouth Academy’s Rileigh Chase kicks the ball during Tuesday’s game against Buckfield. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

Bucks keeper Kianna Finnegan made eight saves for the shutout, which Caldwell said was easily the senior’s best game of the season. Carlton had two saves.

While Carrier’s two first-half goals helped create a gap, Caldwell said, the time spent passing the ball back, sharpening through balls and learning how to stay patient for scoring opportunities during the lead-up to Tuesday’s game made all the difference.

Monmouth coach Gary Trafton was proud of the team for never giving up, even when the Mustangs were down late.

“They just kept playing real hard, and I mean, you can’t ask for more than that,” Trafton said. “Kids can give up on that stuff, but (I’m) very proud that they just kept battling and trying to try to get a goal in the there and worked hard.”

Trafton added that goals have been hard to come by for his team this season, and finishing on opportunities were even harder.

“We had a few opportunities, but not like (Buckfield) did,” Trafton said. “They were a very good team.”

This season is Monmouth’s first in Class D, following the end of a co-op with Winthrop in Class C.

Buckfield reached the regional final after defeating Old Orchard Beach 7-0 on Oct. 31; Monmouth beat St. Dominic 1-0 in its semifinal on Nov. 1. The Bucks’ only loss this season was on Sept. 2 to Temple Academy, with a final score of 2-0.

Buckfield reached 2023 D South final, but lost to St. Dominic 1-0.

“It’s so unreal, we fell short last year so we’re glad we’re back, going to states this year, confident,” Brewster said. “We knew they (Monmouth) were aggressive, going to play hard and loud. They’re pretty positive as a team, they play united so we just had to come and play like us.”