Windham Christian Academy’s varsity coed soccer team played over 100 minutes against Oxford Hills Christian Academy in the Maine Christian School Sports League Championship game at Edward Little in Auburn on Thursday, Oct. 29. After regulation play was over, the game was tied 1-1. Windham Christian Academy kept up their intensity for two 15-minute overtimes and the game came down to penalty kicks as Oxford Hills won, 2-1.
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| Windham Christian Academy sophomore Jeremiah Gorlov races to be first to the ball during the Maine Christian Student Sports League varsity soccer championship game against Oxford Hills Christian Academy. PHOTO BY MATT PASCARELLA |
The Warriors (Windham Christian Academy) had multiple shots on goal as they worked to score.
About 20 minutes into the first half, Oxford Hills Christian Academy scored.
Windham Christian Academy continued going hard after the ball. At the half, Oxford Hills Christian Academy led, 1-0.
“Our approach was really just to play our game; a good passing game, they play as a team really well,” said Windham Christian Academy varsity coed soccer coach Kayla Sinclair. “We’ve done a lot of double overtimes and they like nailbiters, they play well under pressure. We played as a team ... and keeping possession of the ball a lot and never giving up.”
In the second half, Windham Christian Academy came onto the field with a lot of intensity. Windham Christian Academy sophomore Elija Popov had a strong shot on goal almost immediately.
A short time later, Windham Christian Academy sophomore Jeremiah Gorlov scored; the game was tied 1-1.
As the clock would down, Windham Christian Academy hustled to break the tie.
“We’ve tied this team 6-6 (in the regular season) and we thought if we locked in more, we could win,” said Gorlov. “Our passing in the second half we locked in and did much better. Our team warms up more in the second half, and it was 1-0 so we had more of a fire in our bellies. We could have been more aggressive. There’s nothing we could have done better except for score.”
After regulation play, the score remained tied 1-1.
Both overtimes were a testament to the strength of these players, who had already played a full 80 minutes and now continued to give their all for another 30-plus minutes. At the end of the second overtime, the game remained tied 1-1.
It was now onto penalty kicks. Each team chose three players to go head-to-head with the opposing team’s goalie. The winner was whoever made more shots in three kicks. Windham Christian Academy missed the first two kicks, while Oxford Hills Christian Academy scored on their first two kicks.
“We got to the championship, everything that we’ve practiced, everything that we’ve done in games is really what we’re here to do,” said Sinclair. “I think they did it. They’re a good group of kids, with big hearts. They love the game of soccer and they work really well together.”
Senior Dillon Diggins said they were trying their best to win. He said he thought their communication was pretty good, they were talking a bit on offense and defense. Diggins said penalty kicks are high-pressure, even if you’ve practiced a lot. They could have tried to get their passing more to the middle.
“We could’ve won more 50-50 balls, said Coppersmith. “It came down to penalty kicks, which in my opinion is about luck. “My overall takeaway is that sometimes we lose, and you have to keep your head up. This was one of the best games my team has played. I’m so proud of how far we made it and how hard we worked.” <
Windham Christian Academy continued going hard after the ball. At the half, Oxford Hills Christian Academy led, 1-0.
In the second half, Windham Christian Academy came onto the field with a lot of intensity. Windham Christian Academy sophomore Elija Popov had a strong shot on goal almost immediately.
A short time later, Windham Christian Academy sophomore Jeremiah Gorlov scored; the game was tied 1-1.
As the clock would down, Windham Christian Academy hustled to break the tie.
“We’ve tied this team 6-6 (in the regular season) and we thought if we locked in more, we could win,” said Gorlov. “Our passing in the second half we locked in and did much better. Our team warms up more in the second half, and it was 1-0 so we had more of a fire in our bellies. We could have been more aggressive. There’s nothing we could have done better except for score.”
After regulation play, the score remained tied 1-1.
Both overtimes were a testament to the strength of these players, who had already played a full 80 minutes and now continued to give their all for another 30-plus minutes. At the end of the second overtime, the game remained tied 1-1.
It was now onto penalty kicks. Each team chose three players to go head-to-head with the opposing team’s goalie. The winner was whoever made more shots in three kicks. Windham Christian Academy missed the first two kicks, while Oxford Hills Christian Academy scored on their first two kicks.
“We got to the championship, everything that we’ve practiced, everything that we’ve done in games is really what we’re here to do,” said Sinclair. “I think they did it. They’re a good group of kids, with big hearts. They love the game of soccer and they work really well together.”
Senior Dillon Diggins said they were trying their best to win. He said he thought their communication was pretty good, they were talking a bit on offense and defense. Diggins said penalty kicks are high-pressure, even if you’ve practiced a lot. They could have tried to get their passing more to the middle.
“We could’ve won more 50-50 balls, said Coppersmith. “It came down to penalty kicks, which in my opinion is about luck. “My overall takeaway is that sometimes we lose, and you have to keep your head up. This was one of the best games my team has played. I’m so proud of how far we made it and how hard we worked.” <
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