Maddy Thai
Senior Editor of RamPage
The RamPage, Bangor High's school newspaper
November 10, 2024
BATH–On November 9, the Bangor girls’ soccer team took down reigning Class A State Champions Scarborough in a highly anticipated state final. The Rams were seeking revenge after losing 2-0 to Scarborough in the 2023 state title match. Although the Red Storm struck first, a Gabby Roy equalizer and two additional Georgie Stephenson goals put Bangor on top for their first state title since 2015.
At a windy McMann Field, Bangor and Scarborough battled throughout an evenly matched first half. When the first 40 minutes concluded, the game was still tied at no score. Scarborough had a slight offensive edge at this point, with seven shots to Bangor’s three.
The second-half action started quickly, with a near-goal in the first three minutes. Junior Clara Oldenburg worked her way up the right side, then sent a long pass into the 18. Junior Gabby Roy ran onto it, but her shot went just over the crossbar. At the 46th minute, Scarborough caught Bangor out of position. After multiple deflections, a forward from the Red Storm beat Bangor’s defense to the ball. She sent the ball to the middle right, sneaking by Bangor goalkeeper Eva Coombs, whose diving momentum was taking her to the ground.
Despite Scarborough’s lead, Bangor didn’t go long without answering. Seven minutes later, Oldenburg and Roy had another combination attempt. This time, it worked, and it was a play nearly identical to one from the regional final. Oldenburg took a corner kick, which she placed by the far post. Roy took it out of the air and tucked it bottom left. After equalizing, the Rams never looked back.
With nine minutes remaining in the contest, freshman Georgie Stephenson had the biggest play of the game. The forward ran onto an Avery Clark pass and turned with it to her outside. Caught between two Scarborough defenders, Stephenson was tripped up and sent to the ground. However, she got up and maneuvered past a third defender. Stephenson shot the ball bottom right, giving Bangor a 2-1 lead.
With 1:45 left to play, Bangor still had the lead, but continued to fight for an insurance goal. Sophomore center back Jo Jo Clukey battled for possession near the 20-yard line. Winning the ball, she sent a pass to senior midfielder Teagan Atherley. Atherley served the ball to Stephenson, who took a touch around a defender. Stephenson struck the ball with her left foot, which bounced past Scarborough’s goalkeeper to give the freshman her second goal of the day. This was also her 15th goal of the season, putting Bangor up 3-1.
With a two-goal lead and the clock winding down head coach Kemble made substitutions to ensure that all seniors got to play in the state championship match. The final score was 3-1 Bangor. The Rams had 4 corner kicks and 16 shots. Senior goalkeeper Eva Coombs had 7 saves on 13 Scarborough shots. The victory was particularly meaningful to Coombs and 14 teammates, who were on last year’s runner-up team.
“After losing against Scarborough last year, our team had not only the motivation but the skill set to persevere through that game,” said Coombs. “It was a complete team effort. Our backs were on point and our offense got the shots we needed to come home with a win.”
After playing down for seven minutes, it was Gabby Roy who equalized. And in the end, Georgie Stephenson stepped up for her team in the biggest game of the year. The freshman is not a starter, but played 52 minutes in the state championship match and scored twice in the final ten minutes. “It feels amazing to do my job on the field and have all of our hard work pay off,” said Stephenson.
State champions Bangor finished the season with a record of 17-1. In 18 games, they scored 101 goals and held their opponents to just 13 goals. “We wanted to make our school, each other, and everybody proud,” said Coombs, “and we did just that.”