PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — Whenever Houlton and Orono meet on the soccer field, an exceptional contest seems to follow.
Played on the artificial turf at the Johnson Athletic Complex, since Houlton’s soccer field was covered in snow, Thursday night’s Class C North quarterfinal proved no exception to that rule as No. 2 Houlton and No. 7 Orono battled to a 3-3 stalemate after 80 minutes of action and remained knotted deep into the second of two 15-minute overtime periods.
Houlton Shire freshman Olivia Henderson broke that tie as she delivered the game-winning goal with just 5:34 minutes remaining to give Houlton a 4-3 victory.
Henderson had been struggling a little in the overtime periods, prompting Houlton coach Tim Tweedie to pull the youngster aside and offer her some advice.
“Coach just told me that I needed to try harder and (to) get my head into the game,” Henderson said.
Henderson did precisely that as she re-entered after a brief break, collected a loose ball from about 30 yards out and sent a well-placed shot into the lower left corner of the net for the game-winner.
“I honestly didn’t know it went in,” Henderson said. “I just kicked it. We had nothing to lose at that point.”
“I know the type of player she (Henderson) is,” Tweedie said. “She’s a freshman and sometimes in big games, they need opportunities to regain their composure. That’s all that move was. It’s a lot to ask of a freshman.”
For the Shires, Rebecca Howe scored a pair of goals, while Sierra Hoops added another in regulation. Isabella Baker, Carley Hartery and Brynn Kennedy each scored unassisted goals for Orono.
Houlton goalie Tessa Solomon made eight saves on 11 shots, while Anna Drinkert made five saves on 15 shots for the Red Riots.
In a game that lasted more than two hours, with wind chills in the teens, both teams struggled with strong wind gusts that re-directed most throw-ins and lob shots. The wind gusts were so strong that one of Howe’s goals went in, even though she wasn’t trying to score.
“I was just trying to send the ball in to my front line, but the wind took it and things just happened,” Howe said. “This is an unreal feeling.”
With Houlton going with the wind in the first half, Howe lobbed a high deep shot from about 10 yards shy of the midfield marker that the wind carried all the way into the goal.
The Shires actually had more success going against the wind, as the team resorted to shorter passes to move the ball up the field. Henderson’s game-winning goal came while Houlton was against the wind.
“We did a lot of things to change formations to keep kids fresh,” Tweedie said. “It is easier to keep the ball on the ground going against the wind. Both teams played better going into the wind tonight.”
With that win, Houlton (12-1-2) advances to the semifinals, where the Shires face No. 3 Fort Kent (8-5-2) Saturday at 10 a.m. That game will also be played at the Johnson Athletic Complex in Presque Isle. Fort Kent advanced to the semifinals with a 1-0 double overtime victory over George Stevens Academy Tuesday.
Houlton and Fort Kent split during the regular season with the Shires collecting a 3-2 victory at home and the Warriors winning 3-0 in Fort Kent.
The Red Riots end their season with a 6-5-5 record.
