PORTLAND — As soon as the Class A regional championship results were finalized, soccer fans across the state knew they would be in for a treat when Class A North regional champion Camden Hills challenged Class A South regional champion Scarborough for the Class A state championship. 

And treated they were. 

Both teams entered the early Saturday afternoon showdown at Deering High School with no losses and one tie each. Both teams were also the top-seeded team in their respective sides of the bracket. 

But, alas, only one team could be awarded the state crown and the Lady Red Storm (16-1-1) were determined to do everything in its power to dethrone the defending state champion Lady Windjammers (18-0-1), who sought the school’s second state championship. 

However, Camden Hills wound up scoring their way to a second consecutive Class A state title by besting Scarborough 3-2. 

After a pair of blocked attempts in the opening minutes of the game, Kassie Krul found the net in the 14th minute to give the Lady Windjammers a 1-0 advantage, an advantage the Rockport team carried into the halftime break. 

With 34 minutes left in the title game, Kristina Kelly netted her 71st career goal, as only a sophomore, to give Camden Hills a 2-0 lead. 

With 29 minutes left in the contest, Kassie Krul netted her second goal of the game to push Camden Hills to a 3-0 advantage. 

With 19 minutes remaining, Scarborough finally got on the goal when Gaby Panagakos scored to narrow Camden Hills’ lead down to 3-1. 

With only seven minutes remaining in regulation, Scarborough’s Ashley Sabatino found the net to make turn the state title showdown into a 3-2 nail-biter. 

In those next seven minutes, Camden Hills held Scarborough scoreless to maintain its 3-2 advantage and win the Class A state championship. 

The Scarborough roster includes Emily Royce, Emily Johnson, Jessica Rinaldi, Ryan Connolly, Grace Alofs, Haley Koukous, Josie Patten, Sophia Martens, Lauren Sabatino, Elizabeth Flanders, Lauren O’Reilly, Sarah Callahan, Jocelyn Couture, Sierra Duggan, Ellie Patten, Suzanne Wooldrigde, Madsyen Wallace, Caitlin McCaffery, Taylor Veilleaux, Natalie Taylor, Madison Marinko, Leah Dickman, Molly Murnane, Anna Black, Sophie Glidden, Gaby Panagakos, Emily Labbe, Ashley Sabatino, Grace Pettingill and Nicole Young. The team’s head coach is Mike Farley, who was assisted by Doug Bennett, Jill Deering and Steven Yescott. 

The Camden Hills roster included Isabelle Lang, Kristina Kelly, Taylor Johnson, Meghan Gallagher, Lauren Miller, Camryn Langille, Eve Gutheinz, Sarah Spizzuoco, Eliza Roy, Kassie Krul, Kaylyn Krul, Grace Blackwell, Ella Pierce, Grace Wrona, Ryan Hart, Claire Pierce, Frances Ostensen, Alexandra Southworth, Sarah Contento, Lexi Heidron and Anya Babb-Brott. The team’s head coach is Meredith Messer, who was assisted by Josh Mahar. 

The Lady Windjammers posted a 13-0-1 record during the regular season with wins over Messalonskee (7-1), Bangor (4-0), Hampden Academy (2-0, 5-1), Skowhegan (9-0, 7-0), Mount Ararat (11-2), Oceanside (7-0), Lewiston (5-0), Cony (12-0), Edward Little (10-1), Medomak Valley (6-1) and Brunswick (5-3). The lone tie came against Bangor (2-2). 

Camden Hills posted a 3-2 victory over Brunswick in the Class A KVAC Championship before knocking off Mount Blue in the regional quarterfinal 11-0, Edward Little in the regional semifinal 6-0 and Bangor in the regional championship 3-1 to boost their record to 17-0-1 leading into the state title showdown. 

In total, Camden Hills outscored its opponents 118-16 this season, including the state championship game. 

Reach George Harvey and the sports department at: sports@penbaypilot.com.