Portland Girls Lose on Penalty Kicks

It was as close a game as one could be. Two teams tied 0-0 through 80 minutes of regulation and two 10-minute periods of overtime. So, it came down to penalty kicks.

In the third round of penalty kicks, visiting North Branford finally prevailed over Portland in a Shoreline Conference tournament semifinal on Thursday

“The game was an unbelievably close game,” North Branford coach Rick Geremia said. “Both teams had a lot of chances to put it away in regulation and overtime. I don’t really like the penalty kick way of settling it but that’s the way they want it.”

North Branford had a 3-1 advantage in the first round, but goals by Madison Reimondo and Amanda Ghent, and the strong play in goal by Marissa DiMare, forced another round.

“[DiMare is] a phenomenal keeper,” Portland coach Sandy Booth said. “Because our defense is so strong in front of her, I don’t think she gets the proper recognition.”

The second round is where the Highlanders had their best chance to win, but with the score tied at 2 on the final shot of the round, Thunderbirds keeper Katelyn Pantera made the save.

“We had them in that second round, we needed to score one to win,” Booth said. “We had two shots at it and we couldn’t hit it.”

Said Geremia: “I think our goalkeeper came up big real big in the end on PKs.”

The third round was tied at 1 with two more kicks each. Alexandra Stowe gave North Branford a 2-1 edge, then Natalie Baughan clinched it. The goal sent the Thunderbirds racing onto the field to celebrate, while the Highlanders walked off dejected.

“It’s not fun to lose this way,” Booth said. “I’d much rather lose 1-0 on the field than line up for PKs. Today they were able to find that one person to knock it home and we weren’t able to. Otherwise. It was a great game to watch. Possession team against a hard, physical team. It was a fun game.

As heartbreaking a loss that it was, it isn’t the end. The Highlanders (12-3-1) will start play in the Class S tournament next week, probably as the No. 3 seed.

“Hopefully, this puts a little more hunger, a little more fire in their belly,” Booth said. “I know it’s going to.”

With the state tournament approaching, the possibility penalty kicks will decide a game remains. So what did Booth and his team gain from this experience?

“It’s mental toughness,” he said. “We just have to toughen up a little bit more and make that shot that we make in practice. We have a keeper who’s going to steal one or two, and we have to find a way to put one in to support her.”

North Branford (10-4-2) will play Coginchaug (12-2-2) on Saturday for the Shoreline Conference title.