Lady Eagles rally to win quarter- and semi-final - By Stephanie Coffin

The Lady Eagles hosted Portland Bulldogs Wednesday night in the quarterfinals. The Eagles dominated the field the whole game; however, somehow the Bulldogs found their way into the home end and scored with 25 minutes left in the first half. The Portland goalie finished with 24 saves on goal.

Though the rain came and went during the game the fans came to watch on both sides and the excitement rallying for both the Eagles and the Bulldogs was audible. The first half ended with Portland up 1-0.

Within eight minutes into the second half Portland scored again. Coach Deb LaBel must have had a heart to heart talk with her Lady Eagles because when they came to play the second half the game play change. The Eagles knew it was then or never! 

Ciera Berthiaume scored two goals, including the winning goal and Jenna Soucy tied the game three minutes after Ciera scored the first goal. Top-seeded Eagles (14-0-1) rallied to win over ninth-seeded Bulldogs (9-8) 3-2.

The Lady Eagles hosted Thornton Academy last Monday night in the Western Maine Class A Semifinals. Thornton lost to Windham in two overtimes in last season’s regional final making this game an extra incentive for both teams to bring their A game.

For the second game in a row the Eagles fell behind by two goals and fought back for a 3-2 win. Thornton’s Tory Daigle put the Trojans on the board giving them a 1-0 lead in the 27^th minute of the first half and again early in the second half, Daigle scored on a pass from Jessica Haskell.

Working well under pressure, the Eagles rallied back when Berthiaume challenged goalkeeper Lexi Nason along with Thornton’s defense and scored. In a repeat of the quarterfinals, Jenna Soucy followed up with a goal with an assist from Holly Spencer. Officially tying the game up and going into regulation overtime. 

Fans were pumped from both teams and you could hear the excitement from the crowd. Individual player names were being yelled, team names were being shouted, and friendly banter was being exchanged between the Eagles nest to the Thornton fan section.

Ciera Berthiaume ran the ball past Thornton’s defense and took a shot on goal only to have the ball hit the side bar and bounce back at her. Nason had already committed herself against Berthiaume taking her away from the box. Ciera drilled her rebound into the back of the net with 9:09 left in overtime. 

Windham (15-0-1) hosted number two Scarborough (14-1-1) Wednesday in the regional final.