BANGOR — Even with a two-goal halftime lead Saturday in the Class B girls’ soccer state championship game, Greely Coach Rachel Williams knew her team would have to play better to win the title. The opponent was Hermon, a team that just scored five goals in its North regional final win. A two-goal lead wasn’t enough.

“We had some real lapses in the first half. My halftime (talk) was just play smarter, not harder. Keep it simple and play your game,” Williams said.

The Rangers did just that, scoring early in the second half en route to a 3-1 win for their first state title since 2015.

Greely finished the season 14-0-4. Hermon, playing in the Class B final for the fourth time since 2019, ends at 15-3.

“I knew it was a special group. I didn’t know we’d have the depth that we have. I didn’t know how much love and respect this team would have for each other,” Williams said. “We’ve got 30 girls on the roster. That means a lot of people are sitting. That means they’re supporting their teammates on and off the field.”

The Rangers scored a pair of goals late in the first half. First, Molly Partridge converted a penalty kick with 10:14 left. Awarded being taken down in the box by a Hermon defender, Partridge fired her shot to the lower left corner.

“It’s all about believing in yourself, staying calm and just finding the net,” Partridge said. “It’s a lot of pressure. It’s a lot of stress, especially when it’s 0-0.”

Williams said penalty kicks haven’t been a strong point for the Rangers.

“We’ve had a handful, and they haven’t gone our way. It was a stressful moment. Molly Partridge, our team captain, is seasoned and calm and just took a deep breath and made a great shot,” Williams said.

“I knew (Hermon) was going to capitalize on our mistakes, so we had to put a couple in the back of the net.”

With 1:46 left in the first half, Greely made it 2-0 when Abby Lennox connected with a shot from 25 yards, finding the upper left corner.

“We’ve been working on that a lot in practice, dribbling in and cutting in and shooting it,” Lennox said. “A lot of work has paid off to make that happen, so I’m really glad it went in. It gave us that momentum.”

Lennox added her second goal with 37:50 left, pushing Greely’s lead to 3-0.

It didn’t take the Hawks long to respond. Madison Stewart’s goal at 36:06 cut the deficit to 3-1.

It appeared the Hawks had made it a one-goal game just a minute later, but Brooke Gallup’s goal was waved off because the play was offsides.

Greely used two goalies, starting junior Lily Warzicki Stein before going to senior Elizabeth Sproul in the second half. Sproul missed time during the season because of a concussion, Williams said.