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Observer photo/Stuart Hedstrom STATE CHAMPIONSHIP — Dexter junior Annabelle Peakes keeps the ball away from Madison senior Raegan Cowan during the 8-player girls soccer championship Saturday, Nov. 9 at Hermon High School. Cowan scored in overtime to give Madison a 2-1 victory and its second consecutive championship.

Madison girls repeat as 8-player champs with overtime win over Dexter

Stuart Hedstrom •November 12, 2024

HERMON — Madison Area Memorial High School senior Raegan Cowan set an all-time Maine high school soccer single-season record this year by scoring 68 goals. The last of these near 70 goals should be the most memorable.

Cowan scored in overtime of the girls 8-player championship to give the Bulldogs a 2-1 victory over Dexter Regional High School on the turf at Pottle Field at Hermon High School Saturday afternoon, Nov. 9 in a matchup of the North and South second-seeded 17-0 teams.

The undefeated Bulldogs (the only Maine high school soccer team across 10 different divisions to finish at 18-0 this year) repeated as state champions in the second season of the 8-player game. Almost exactly a year ago Madison topped Penquis Valley High School of 3-1 to win the first ever girls 8-player title with Cowan scoring the first two Bulldog goals that day as part of the 126 total she has recorded between 2023 and 2024.

*Observer photo/Stuart Hedstrom*
STATE CHAMPIONSHIP — Dexter junior Annabelle Peakes keeps the ball away from Madison senior Raegan Cowan during the 8-player girls soccer championship Saturday, Nov. 9 at Hermon High School. Cowan scored in overtime to give Madison a 2-1 victory and its second consecutive championship.

In the extra session of the 2024 final Cowan had an initial shot on goal saved, with the ball rolling loose. She soon got it back and tried again with the attempt landing inside the right post to give her team the gold ball at the 7:54-mark.

Cowan said she blanked out on the winning shot, relying on instinct. “You got to get the ball, got to get it in,” she said. “The golden goal is everything, you have to go 100 percent all of the time.”

Cowan praised the Madison passing and solid defense for its play against Dexter, the Tigers finished with a 17-1 record in its first 8-player season after having played at Class C North/East for many years.

*Observer photo/Stuart Hedstrom*
RUNNER-UP PLAQUE — Senior captains Abilene Corson, left, and Claire Fogler bring the 8-player girls runner-up plaque back to their Tiger teammates during the postgame ceremony. Dexter fell 2-1 to Madison in overtime of the state championship in Hermon on Nov. 9. The now repeat champion Bulldogs are the only team to defeat the 17-1 Tigers.

“You can’t score without good passes so I credit it all to my teammates,” Cowan said.

“(The Bulldog defense) stood really, really strong, they did amazing, and I’m very proud of them,” she added

The match was scoreless until more than halfway through the second half when Bulldog senior Mackenzie Robbins converted a direct kick into the top of the Tiger goal with 13:47 to play. Nearly five minutes later Dexter got on the scoreboard with a goal from junior Desiree Adams to help set up overtime.

*Observer photo/Stuart Hedstrom*
CLEARING IT UP THE FIELD — Junior Jazmin Channon gets ready to get the ball out of the Dexter end of the field, with Tiger sophomore keeper Adalea Gudroe looking on from the goal.

Senior Abilene Corson passed to her left to find Adams. Adams’ shot was initially stopped by Madison senior keeper Alison Tuscan – she and her Tiger counterpart Adalea Gudroe each made four saves — but Tuscan had the ball bounced off her gloves and it went behind her and in for the equalizer. The two teams each put 10 shots on the other’s goal.

“They were definitely the first team that man marked Raegan which is a smart move for them because she is one of our best players on our team,” Madison head coach Lauren Peters said. “She scores the majority of our goals, so they did a very good job with that. They also came out very aggressive which we were expecting but we weren’t necessarily ready for because all season we hadn’t played teams that were as aggressive as Dexter.”

Not only did both teams enter at 17-0, but Madison and Dexter each came in with very lopsided goal differentials. For Madison it was 114 for vs. just six against, with 12 shutouts. In its first 17 matches, the Tigers scored 115 goals while giving up just 17 with seven shutouts.

*Observer photo/Stuart Hedstrom*
GOAL SCORER — Tiger junior Desiree Adams had her team’s goal in the 8-player championship on Nov. 9, scoring with just under nine minutes to play in the second half to help set up overtime. Trailing is Madison senior Raegan Cowan, who had the game-winner in the extra session.

The Bulldogs won the team’s second straight title in the program’s third championship game appearance, falling in the 2017 Class C final.

The state championship berth is the second overall for Dexter. Per the Maine Principals’ Association website, Dexter and Lisbon tied 1-1- in the 1991 Class B game.

Dexter team members are seniors Lillian Cooley, Abilene Corson, Kayleigh Dunton, Avery Fogler, Clair Fogler, and Amelia Greaves; juniors Desiree Adams, Jazmin Channon, Peyton Dodge, Cassidy Drew, and Annabelle Peakes; sophomores Brookelin Dorman, Adalea Gudroe, Skylar Gulley, Alexandra Hayden, and Baylee Packard; freshmen Raelynn Anderson and Lexi Perkins; coaches Frank Reynolds and David Wilks and head coach Jody Grant.