Bangor soccer girls open defense of regional title with 10-2 win over Hampden Academy

BANGOR, Maine — Bangor High School’s Class A North All-Region midfielders Teagan Atherley and Clara Oldenburg picked up where they left off last year on Thursday night.

Junior Oldenburg, a 20-goal scorer last year, had three goals and assisted on another and senior Atherley, a 23-goal producer, notched two goals and an assist as the defending A North champion Rams opened the season with a 10-2 victory over Hampden Academy at Cameron Stadium.

The game was called with 5:10 remaining due to the eight-goal mercy rule.

It was Bangor’s most goals in a game since an 11-0 win at Lewiston on Sept. 6, 2022.

“It was a good start to the season,” said Atherley. “We came out pretty strong. We played well for the first game but we have a lot to improve on.”

The score was misleading because the Broncos pulled to within 4-2 on a Zoe Higgins goal 3:58 into the second half as she directed in a rebound off a Zoe Catrucci shot.

But Oldenburg, who had scored two goals in the final 3:34 of the first half to give the Rams some valuable breathing room at 4-1 entering the break, restored the three-goal lead with 23:44 remaining by neatly maneuvering around defenders inside the penalty area and tucking a low shot to the far side from seven yards out.

That triggered a flurry of six unanswered goals.

Atherley made it 6-2 1:11 later when she ran onto a nice through ball by Oldenburg and elevated an eight-yard shot under the crossbar.

Atherley turned distributor on the next goal when freshman Georgie Stephenson scored her first career goal from point-blank range after being set up at the far post by Atherley.

Stephenson wasted little time getting her second, converting an Emily Adams pass from a tight angle just 46 seconds later.

Sophomore Lucy O’Connell slotted home a Reese Trott rebound with 12:17 to go and senior Kali Snowden brought an end to the game scoring off a Stephenson pass.

Atherley had opened the scoring just 3:28 into the game when she ripped a rising shot into the far corner from the right side of the penalty area.

Sophomore Gabby Gordon expanded the lead just 5:07 later when her corner kick deflected in off a Hampden defender.

But the Broncos fought their way back into it when senior Catrucci scored with 12:31 left in the half by guiding her own rebound past Bangor goalie Eva Coombs after she had been set up nicely for her initial shot by sophomore Gracie Marquis.

The dynamic Marquis gave the Ram defenders fits the whole night, using her quickness and impressive foot skills to dribble around them and make precise passes that led to scoring chances.

Her nifty pass created the opportunity for Catrucci that led to Higgins’ goal.

But Oldenburg’s two late first-half goals erased Hampden Academy’s momentum.

Both came off shots from beyond the penalty area.

“On the first one, there was a loose ball and I took a forward touch, had space and just hit it really hard. I didn’t think it went in because it hit the crossbar but it went down and wound up going over the line,” said Oldenburg.

She put her second one to the far corner with 29.9 seconds left in the half.

“It was another loose ball or it may have been a pass from a teammate. There was a huge gap in the middle and I hit it from there,” said Oldenburg.

“Once (Hampden Academy) scored, a switch turned on for us,” said Atherley. “That really motivated us to push a little bit harder.

“We realized we weren’t being quite as intense as we needed to be,” she added. “Scoring (those two goals) helped us feel a little more comfortable.”

Dale Overlock made his debut as the Hampden Academy coach and said he was “very proud” of his team.

“They worked hard and put in a great effort. They are improving every day,” said Overlock.

Coombs made three saves on six HA shot attempts in the first half and sophomore Emily Caulkins had two saves on three HA attempts in the second half.

HA junior goalie Lauryn Smart was busy as the Rams attempted 44 shots on her. She finished with 11 saves.

Bangor will host Mt. Blue of Farmington on Tuesday at 5:30 but the Broncos won’t play again until Sept. 17 when they entertain Brunswick at 6.