WISCASSET — The last place Brian Campbell expected to put the ball was on net.

The Wiscasset senior found himself facing a bad angle in the left corner and a goal keeper in his way. Rather than force a shot, he chose instead to touch the ball to somebody else. His pass never reached its intended target. Instead, it deflected off a St. Dom’s defender and rolled into an open goal. The fortunate bounce not only  lifted the unbeaten Redskins to a 2-1 victory but also stunned the previously unbeaten Saints.

“I couldn’t believe it,” said Campbell. “I was thinking, ‘That’s impossible. I can’t believe I just did that.’ Then I realized it is totally possible. I just did that.”

The loss was the first for St. Dom’s in two seasons, since the Saints (12-1-1)  joined the Mountain Valley Conference. It not only ended St. Dom’s hopes of the top seed in Western C but also ended a winning streak that went back to a playoff loss in 2008.

“They had a (32-game) winning streak,” said St. Dom’s coach Matt Erickson, whose team went 19-0 and included the MVC title and Class C state championship. “That’s tremendous. You’ve got to lose sometime. We lost to a good team tonight. I think it could have gone either way.”

The Saints were forced to rally and force overtime after a slow start Tuesday. St. Dom’s tied the game with 10:37 left in regulation. The two clubs played evenly in the two five-minute overtime sessions and appeared destined for a second straight tie this season. Instead, Campbell emerged from the left corner and tried to make a pass.

“I basically wanted to give it off to another person,” said Campbell. “I was dribbling it out past the corner. I thought, ‘The goalie is right there. That’s the worst shot in the world.’ So I just tapped it back. There was this guy’s foot standing right there. It bounced off that, and it just rolled right past the post and into the goal.”

As he watched the surprising game-winner roll into an open net, Campbell was almost as stunned at the Saints themselves.

“I just went blank,” he said. “I thought, ‘Did I really do that?’ Then everybody jumped around me.”

The win puts the Redskins (13-0-1) in the MVC title game and likely gives them the top seed in Western C. The Saints will likely be in second.

“The difference was that first 20 minutes,” said Erickson. “It gave them momentum. It gave them hope. It gave them the lead. These kids have never lost to (Wiscasset).”

The Redskins started strong and controlled the game from the outset. Wiscasset outhustled the Saints and beat them to most balls. The Redskins turned that play into an early lead at 3:08. Ashton Benn crossed the ball from the right side, and Ross Hanley was there to chip it in.

“They came out strong the first 15 minutes,” said Erickson. “We didn’t. We were kind of just looking at the scenery, the foliage, and they got a quick goal. They played well. We had opportunities, and they had opportunities.”

The Saints didn’t produce a quality shot until about midway through the first half.  One of St. Dom’s best chances was a cross from the right side that went over the keeper’s hands, but defender Jason Weatherbee was there to head it away. A few moments later, another cross hit Weatherbee and deflected toward the net, but goalkeeper Mason Brewer was right there to catch it.

In the second half, the Saints picked up their game and played with intensity. St. Dom’s began putting on persistent pressure and finally got the equalizer when Alex Parker chipped in a high shot from the left side.

“We fought hard,” said Erickson, who complimented the play of his defender Kyle Hargreaves and keeper Cam Hainey. “We finally controlled the midfield. That was the key with Kurt (Johnson) and Zak (Johnson) in the midfield.”

The Saints kept up the pressure while the Redskins were forced to regroup in the closing minutes. Wiscasset survived down the stretch and came back to life in overtime.

“I was thinking that they were going to get another goal,” said Campbell of the end of regulation. “I felt I just had to try my hardest, run to every ball and stay in front of every person.”

[email protected]