Houlton girls nearly upset higher-ranked Orono

The No. 6 Houlton Lady Shires gave it their all in the Class C quarterfinal game Oct. 25 against number-three host Orono.
“The girls really did play tremendously in our playoff game,” said Houlton coach Tim Tweedie.
The Lady Shires were narrowly defeated, 2-1, by an opponent who has been to the Eastern Maine championship five years running.
    “They won three of those times,” said Tweedie. “We played them about as well as anyone has all season.”
Orono’s Chloe Douglass had an unassisted tally eight minutes into the game. But, Alana Pratt of Houlton knotted the game eight minutes later. Goalie Marina Cameron had 16 stops on 23 shots faced. Orono’s netkeeper Taylor Gray set aside eight of 13 shots.
The teams played evenly through the first half with 1-1 score at halftime. Houlton’s goal was scored by Pratt when she settled the ball off a corner kick.
“It was a nice shot from Alana,” Tweedie said. “She placed it in a corner.”
The Lady Shires had an opportunity to take the lead with a couple of minutes left in the opening half when Pratt broke down the left side of the field, according to Tweedie, and hit a shot, which deflected off the goalkeeper, but continued rolling toward the goal.
“It was swept away by an Orono defender about two feet before it rolled in the net,” Tweedie said. “But, had it gone in, that could have changed everything. We would have been able to play a little more defensively.”
As the second half got under way, the Lady Shires’ confidence was high as they knew they could play with Orono.
The Red Riots did just what Tweedie had wanted to do if the Lady Shires had grabbed the lead. With 13 minutes gone in the second half, Orono’s Hanna Renedo scored off a header on a cross from teammate Theresa Huelk, as the Red Riots guarded their lead by adding a fifth defensive player.
“They showed a lot of respect to our kids and our ability to score,” Tweedie said. “We made some adjustments and had some good opportunities to even the score, but it just didn’t happen.”
The Lady Shires end their season at 10-5-1. They outscored their opponents 57-15 and the seniors — Amanda Fogarty, Tara Beals and Mikala Folsom — finished their high school careers with a 41-17-4 record.
Next year, the Lady Shires can once again be competitive and contend for a playoff bid, with a strong nucleus returning.
Goalie Cameron and teammates Mikaelah Tracy and Pratt were named to the All-Penobscot Valley Conference Team, along with seniors Fogarty and Folsom.
“We have a pretty good base on which to build,” said Tweedie.
Another underrated player in Tweedie’s eyes is sophomore Jessy Dickison who was injured the fourth game of the season and returned for the playoffs.
“I don’t think most people realize just how good Jessy is,” said Tweedie. “In my opinion, she is one of the top defenders in all of Class C. If she were healthy all season, maybe things would have worked out differently.”
But, with a healthy Dickison, alongside Tori Hanson and Sam Keegan, the Lady Shires will be very solid defensively once again.
“I fully expect to be competing deep into the playoffs next year,” added Tweedie.