A defensive struggle between Wiscasset Middle High School and Hyde ended in a 2-0 girls soccer win for the Wolfpack from Bath Saturday night.

The two class D rivals were scoreless through 70 minutes. The deadlock ended with eight minutes left in regulation when Lily Huettel scored. The goal came after the Wolverines drew a whistle for an infraction just outside the 18-yard line. Logan Truluck passed off to Huettel who was playing striker. She carried the ball to her left, cut right and drilled the ball into the corner of the net.

Hyde’s second goal scored by Truluck came on a penalty kick (charging) with 2:37 remaining.

 Following the opening kickoff, both the Wolverines and Wolfpack struggled to maintain possession of the ball. As the first half wore on, it felt like whichever team scored first would be the eventual winner.

The Wolverines' best chance for a goal came in the first half at 19:30. Going left to right, Gwenn Webber broke free at midfield and carried the ball to the right corner. Her chip shot found Kateleen Trask in front of the Hyde goal but she was unable to get a clean shot away. With 5:05 remaining, Truluck’s direct kick on the Wolverine goal soared over the crossbar.

With three minutes until halftime, Huettel slipped between two defenders just inside the 18-yard line forcing Wolverine goalie Lily Souza to come charging out of the net. Huettel fired but Souza rolled to her left, caught the ball and punted it deep downfield. It was Souza’s seventh save of the half and a big reason the game remained scoreless when the horn finally sounded signaling the break.

Hyde controlled the tempo when play resumed for the final 40 minutes. Kyra Holdampf’s throw-in from midfield went to Truluck who passed off to Tanae Arnold who for the moment was playing striker. Arnold dished off to Huettel who was open on the left wing. Her shot bounced off the left goal post. Wolverine Sydnie Thayer got to the ball and alertly kicked it towards the sideline where her teammate Ellie Pratt booted it downfield.

The Wolverines caught a break after Hyde was whistled for a handball on their side of the field. Webber’s kick that followed carried deep into Hyde’s end. Alyssa Bassett slipped behind a Hyde defender. A wild scramble followed alongside the goal and the ball eventually was deflected behind the net, setting up a Wolverine corner kick. Webber chipped the ball to the goalmouth. Kayla Cossette who had scored the team’s first goal of the season off a corner kick got to it. Lucky for Hyde her shot this time was high. The ball carried a foot or two over the crossbar.

Souza’s save on Truluck’s direct kick with 10 minutes left to play kept the game scoreless. With the clock winding down, it looked like the game might be headed for overtime when at 8:03 Huettel scored. The PK coming five minutes later pretty much ended any hope of Wiscasset rallying back for a tie.

Souza played one of her best games of the season in the net. Besides making some really fine stops and finishing with a dozen saves, she had some great punts, some carrying as far as midfield. Hyde’s goalie Bell Braitberg had three saves. Other Wolverine standouts were Paige Davenport, Natalie Potter, Brianna Orr, Bassett, Pratt, Thayer and Webber.

A win would have gone a long way in securing a class D playoff spot for WMHS. The Wolverines entered the game at 1-9 ranked 11^th in class D south; Hyde at 3-6 came in seeded 8^th. Both teams have just three games remaining in the regular season. The Wolverines’ one MVC win came against Dirigo. They were set to host Mountain Valley, Tuesday, Oct. 2 before heading to Wales to play Oak Hill Oct. 4 and then finish the regular season by hosting Telstar Oct. 10.

Hyde's three other victories were over Telstar, Mountain Valley and Dirigo.

Regardless of where the Wolverines wind up this season, their future looks bright with seven juniors, nine sophomores and four freshmen making up this year’s roster.

Saturday’s nightcap was WMHS’s homecoming game and drew a large crowd. Both teams received a well-deserved round of applause at the game’s conclusion.