LEWISTON — The Camden Hills varsity boys soccer team hit the road Wednesday, Oct. 26 for a Class A quarterfinal matchup with Lewiston.

The showdown between the #4 Blue Devils and #5 Windjammers lived up to its billing and was action-packed from start to finish.

After a back-and-forth first half ended 0-0, Lewiston struck first at the 50 minute mark when Jacinto Mavinga raced to a through ball and shrugged off two 'Jammer defenders before eluding Brian Leonard, who had slipped on the slick surface, and deposited the ball into an open net.

Camden Hills put the pressure on from that point forward and it would pay off at the 73 minute mark when Jasper Hackett found Charlie Pons inside the area for a workman-like goal. The game would remain knotted at 1-1 through two 15 minute overtimes and then the game went to penalty kicks, the tie-breaking procedure for MPA playoffs.

Payson Goyette guessed right on the first Windjammer attempt and his Blue Devil teammates would make each of their five kicks to win the game 2-1 (5-3 on penalties).

The statistics mirrored the story that unfolded on the field with both teams taking 14 shots and both keepers making five saves. Lewiston held the edge in corner kicks 8-5.

We knew this wasn't a normal 4-5 matchup as soon as the pairings came out. Both teams are good enough to get to a state final and win it and coach Gish did an excellent job preparing his team. It was a tough day but I couldn't be more proud of this group.

As they have all season, they gave every ounce of themselves to try and win this game. We played some of the most beautiful soccer in the state all year but soccer is a funny game and results are sometimes hard to come by. We had an exceptional group of seniors who played their last game today and will be sorely missed.

By all accounts, we could be described as a young team and we gained a lot of valuable and hard-earned experience this year. It is hard to see things end so abruptly and penalties are a harsh way to end a game but we didn't leave any doubts about the type of team we were and will continue to be.

Ryan Hurley is the coach of the Camden Hills varsity boys soccer team.