Sixth seed Ellsworth (10-4) and 11th seed Medomak Valley (8-5-1) girls’ soccer teams battled through 75 scoreless minutes in an East Class B preliminary match-up Friday night in Ellsworth. The Eagles held a 19-14 edge in shots in the closely matched contest that was decided on a set play on an indirect kick in the penalty box with 5:42 to play.
Annika Firestone booted in a touch pass from Taylor White to give the Eagles a 1-0 win and advance Ellsworth to the East B tournament. The indirect kick was called for a dangerous play in the penalty box, when a Lady Panther lost her footing and fell on a hotly contested skirmish in front of the net.
In 1st half action, an Alanna Vose shot and Sammi Griffin direct kick were stopped by Ellsworth keeper Jessica Toothaker. On the Panthers’ defensive end, Griffin stopped the ball on the goal line with Medomak keeper Amanda Hendrickson-Belloguet out of the net on a flip throw. Mallory Conary stopped a goal on a scramble with 16 minutes to play in the half.
After being out shot in the 1st half, Medomak picked up their offensive intensity in the 2nd. H-Belloguet stopped Eagle Samantha McGuire on the first shot of the 2nd half. Conary and Taylor Simmons were stopped by Toothaker at the other end.
Ellsworth’s Cristin Wright came up with the defensive play of the game for the Eagles, when she headed out a sure goal at the corner post, while jumping from the end line and between the goal posts. The ball was on the line when Wright made her heroic save.
Vose was stopped twice by Toothaker, and Conary put a shot over the net in solid pressure from the Panthers. At the other end of the field, H-Belloguet made a diving save with 17 minutes to play, and Griffin made a superb defensive stop on a cross with 16 minutes left in the game.
Play became increasingly physical in the final 15 minutes of play but officials let it go. Amanda Young was flattened in the Panthers’ defensive end with 15 minutes left. With 12:30 to go, Vose was taken out in the penalty box on a breakaway, with no whistle on the play.
H-Belloguet made solid saves on a throw-in and corner kick with under 10 minutes to play, in her best outing of the season in net for the Panthers. Hendrickson made 14 saves for Medomak, and Toothaker 8 for the Eagles.
