The Camden Hills High School girls soccer team had its string of four consecutive Class A state championship wins snapped a year ago when the Windjammers were upset by Brunswick in the Class A North semifinals 2-1.
It looked like a team ready for a deep playoff run on Wednesday afternoon as it received first-half goals from sophomore forward Britta Denny, junior forward Brenna Mackey and junior midfielder Ameila Johnson en route to a convincing 3-0 win over Brewer in a regular season finale at Cameron Stadium in Bangor.
It was a makeup game from Monday. Brewer’s grass field was unplayable.
It was Camden Hills’ sixth straight victory while Brewer concluded its regular season with a six-game winless streak (0-3-3).
Camden Hills ended the regular season at 10-3-1 while Brewer finished at 7-4-3.
The Windjammers completely dominated all aspects of the game, attempting 40 shots to Brewer’s 3. Camden Hills forced 15 saves from besieged Brewer senior goalie Bella Tanis.
It was the most goals allowed in a game by Brewer this season. The Witches had given up only seven goals during its first 13 games.
Camden Hills goalkeepers Kara Andrews and Elise Mahar, filling in for starter Maddy Tohanczyn (who was out due to COVID-19 protocols), each made one save.
The highly skilled Windjammers won virtually every 50-50 ball and the Witches rarely moved the ball beyond midfield as they were back on their heels defending most of the time.
“This was our best game of the year from start to finish,” said Camden Hills coach Meredith Messer. “That’s great. That’s what you want at the end of the season.”
“We started strong but then we lost our confidence after their first one went in,” said Brewer coach Phil Turmelle.
Pivotal play: Denny scored the game-opening goal 11:46 into the game and it came a few minutes after Brewer’s Devin Horr had her partial breakaway off a Charlee Laffey pass saved by Andrews, who knocked it down with her hands.
Denny’s goal was her 28th of the season and came after she made a scintillating run down the right flank, beating a pair of defenders before sailing a well-placed shot into the far corner.
“I saw an opening and saw I could take on a couple [defenders], which I did. I have been working on my finesse shot, focusing on putting it into the bottom corner,” said Denny, who was assisted by Sydney Stone.
Turmelle said there was a noticeable momentum swing after the Andrews save and Denny goal.
Mackey’s goal was set up by Leah Snyder, who sent a long through ball down the right side.
Mackey had to chase the ball down near the end line before taking a few touches to push the ball into the penalty area and then firing a left-footed shot that glanced in off the far post.
“I’m left-footed and Coach [Messer] puts me on the right side so I can cut the ball back and shoot it,” Mackey said. “The defenders were too far away from me so I cut it to the left and shot it.”
Johnson made it 3-0 by sailing a shot into the upper corner from the top of the penalty area after Rose Tohanczyn’s shot was blocked and deflected over to her.
Big takeaway: The Windjammers are playing their best soccer at the right time. They have speed and skill all over the field and put together some nice passing sequences. They love to get the ball wide so their quick-footed forwards can attack the goal and either shoot or pass across the goalmouth.
The Witches have been dominated in recent games by A North contenders and have relied on Tanis to keep them in games. They have to find a way to keep possession and generate offense or their playoff run will end early.
Up next: Both will be in the playoffs with Camden Hills being the third seed and Brewer landing in the fifth or sixth spot.
