Pembroke Academy’s preliminary- round girls soccer match with John Stark didn’t last as long as Steve Langevin hoped it would.

In 180 minutes of regularseason play, the teams combined for one goal, leading the PA mentor to prepare his team for a tight finish.

“The last few weeks we’ve been practicing penalty kicks because we’ve been to overtime so many times this year, and because we played (Stark) so tight the first two games,” said Langevin. “We weren’t playing to get there, but we were prepared for it.”

Unfortunately for Langevin and the Spartans, JS senior forward Lauren Macklin scored with 11:24 remaining in regulation to give the Lady Generals a 1-0 victory on Thursday, Oct. 29.

With the loss, Pembroke ended the year with a 7-7-3 record, including six setbacks coming by two goals or less.

The Spartans scored just 22 goals in 16 regular-season contests, but allowed only 16 on defense to earn the No. 10 seed in the Class I playoffs.

“We played the way we have played all year,” said Langevin. “They might possess the ball in our end for the majority of the time, but they won’t get too many scoring opportunities. (Macklin) is an all-state caliber player, and she took advantage of one of those chances.”

Knotted in a scoreless tie in the second half against the Lady Generals, Jordan Heath took a feed in the box from Hannah DeBold and put a hard shot toward the upper portion of the goal, but the Generals’ goalie, Molly Dussault, leapt to tip the shot harmlessly above the crossbar. Stark’s defense cleared the ensuing corner kick to end the threat.

Pembroke had its best opportunity to notch the equalizer with 4:33 remaining when Melissa Pellerin lined up a corner kick.

Pellerin’s pass squirted free to the middle of the box, but just as Chelsey Martinelli was about to put a foot on the ball, it was cleared by a defender.

“When we play them it’s always a close game,” said John Stark mentor Heather Doucette. “All I know is we were hoping it wouldn’t get to penalty kicks.”