HOULTON, Maine — The Houlton girls soccer team put on an impressive performance on Saturday against George Stevens Academy, with an 8-1 victory to advance in this year’s Class C North playoffs.
No. 5 Houlton (8-2 overall) will now face off against No. 4 Central (11-2-1) at 3 p.m. Wednesday at East Corinth in the quarterfinal round.
In Saturday’s prelim, Houlton struck first in the game, with the Shire Maddie Marino scoring eight minutes into the first half. But GSA, the No. 12 seed with a 4-10 overall record, quickly struck back as Clementine Bannon scored to even the game 1-1.
The rest of the game, however, was dominated by Houlton as the squad scored five unanswered goals to close out the first half. Leading the charge were Olivia Henderson, Gabby Gentle and an additional score by Marino occurring within a five minute span. Samantha Johnson also scored twice before time expired to make it 6-1 at the half.
“They just played great team ball all around,” said Brian Barton, the boys varsity coach who was filling in for girls coach Marinna Cameron who was in quarantine. “We definitely controlled the game the whole time.”
In the second half Houlton’s scoring was somewhat dampered, but they still managed two more scores, with Johnson scoring again to complete a hat trick for the game, and Gentle also adding an additional goal to make the final score 8-1.
HOULTON, Maine — October 23, 2021 — Houlton’s Olivia Henderson tries to protect the ball from a GSA player in the two teams’ playoff matchup on Saturday. (Alexander MacDougall | Houlton Pioneer Times)
HOULTON, Maine — October 23, 2021 — George Stevens Academy’s Julia Traub kicks the ball past Houlton’s defense in the two teams’ playoff matchup. (Alexander MacDougall | Houlton Pioneer Times)
HOULTON, Maine — October 23, 2021 — Houlton’s Breanne Barton dribbles the ball past GSA’s Grace Whiting and Kelsey Carter during the two team’s playoff game on Saturday. (Alexander MacDougall | Houlton Pioneer Times)
HOULTON, Maine — October 23, 2021 –GSA’s Chloe Sheahan (number 10) chases runs down the field in pursuit of the ball during the team’s playoff match against Houlton. (Alexander MacDougall | Houlton Pioneer Times)
HOULTON, Maine — October 23, 2021 — GSA’s Kaiya Loukes tries to get the ball away from her team’s net during the team’s matchup against Houlton. (Alexander MacDougall | Houlton Pioneer Times)
