BANGOR — Thanks to a goal by sophomore Karter Eldridge, off a corner kick from sophomore Reid Parlin, the Hall-Dale boys soccer team finished off the best season of its 45-year history on Saturday.

The Bulldogs beat Washington Academy 1-0 for the Class C championship at Cameron Stadium. It’s the first Gold Ball for the Bulldogs (16-2-0), who fell to Houlton in their lone Class C final appearance in 2012.

“It feels amazing,” Eldridge said. “I’ve been playing with these guys since I was younger. It’s going to be sad to see the senior boys leave, but we knew we had to get it done this year.”

“We’ve worked so hard all year,” added Hall-Dale senior Jaxon Olsen. “To finally come to this game and win it, we feel so accomplished. It’s such a surreal feeling.”

With 24:10 remaining in the second half, Parlin placed a perfect corner kick in front of the Washington (13-4-1) net. Eldridge managed to jump above the scrum, met the ball with his head and put just enough force behind it to get past goalkeeper Ethan Cates (10 saves) for the goal.

“Just before the game (assistant coach) Dan Burdin told me to not put (the corner kick) too close to the goal, because of the wind,” Parlin said. “I just followed what he said and it ended up being a goal.”

“I just popped out a few feet, saw (the corner) was a little short, popped out a little on the keeper and just put it in,” Eldridge said.

Both teams faced strong winds throughout the match, blowing west to east. Hall-Dale won the opening coin toss, and head coach Jesse Rowe chose to attack against the wind in the first half. It was a move that paid off. Though the Raiders outshot Hall-Dale 6-1 in the half, Bulldogs freshman goalkeeper Landon Gilbert played brilliantly, making saves on tough shots that knuckled through the wind to finish with seven saves. His most notable save was with 9:00 remaining in the half, making a jump save on a high free kick from Washington’s Zaedyn Philpot.

“It was pretty insane,” Gilbert said. “Any spin (on the ball, the wind) could make it go any way it wanted to. It looked like a knuckleball, a curl that goes backwards or right at you. It’s very hard to tell with those.”

“We told (Gilbert) earlier in the season, when he was a backup, when he got his opportunity, he needed to stake his claim (at the position) and make sure he was the guy,” Rowe said. “He’s done exactly that, and he’s done it since the jump.”

Hall-Dale dominated possession throughout the second half, outshooting the Raiders by a 10-1 margin. Near the 30-minute mark, the Bulldogs seemed certain to score a goal, taking three quick shots in a scrum in front of Cates. All three shots were turned away. Six minutes later, Hall-Dale finally broke through with Eldridge’s goal.

The only rough spot of Hall-Dale’s day was the celebration, as the team dropped the Gold Ball by accident while celebrating, momentarily dislodging the trophy. Rowe managed to attach the Gold Ball securely back onto its base.

“This has been a long time coming and a lot of work,” Rowe said. “We have let too many players go through the program without winning one of these. We worked really hard to get here. The boys, every Saturday this year, we were up at 6:30 in the morning, giving up their time… They did everything that they could to make this a reality. I’m really proud of them.”