Forwards Haley DaGraca, Tori Daigle and Cassidy Cochrane each had a goal and an assist to lead Thornton Academy to a 6-0 victory over Cheverus in a Western Class A girls’ soccer game Wednesday at Boulos Stadium.

Katherine Senechal, Hannah McAlary and Skye Murray also scored for Thornton (7-1), which won its third straight. The Trojans held a significant edge in shots (31-6), shots on goal (14-5) and corner kicks (5-1). Thornton keeper Alexis Nason made four saves before giving way to Abbi Cook (one save) midway through the second half.

The Trojans used size, strength and experience to their advantage, putting pressure on Cheverus from the start. The back line repeatedly picked off passes and pushed the ball forward to midfielders Katie McCrum, Jessica Haskell and Katherine Gillespie, who slipped the ball on to Daigle, Cochrane and DaGraca.

The midfielders and forwards freely interchanged positions as they swung the ball from flank to flank and in behind the Stags’ defense with precision.

“You want to be unpredictable and creative,” said Thornton Coach Chris Kohl. “Soccer is such a flowing sport that you really need to let players be creative and make the runs they see.”

The Trojans’ back line kept the ball out of their end for much of the first half. When the Stags closed down short passing lanes, Trojan backs played the ball back to the keeper Nason. She drove the ball deep, and the speedy Daigle chased it down.

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Cheverus (2-4-2), meanwhile, showed the effects of mounting injuries to starters and veteran players, most notably defensive midfielder Laura Holman, center back Nicole Pineau and goalkeeper Hannah Tyson.

The absence of Pineau forced the Stags’ powerhouse midfielder Abby Goodrich to play on the backline, where she helped limit pressure on keeper Anna Niedermeyer (eight saves).

“We played 75 minutes of good, aggressive soccer,” said Cheverus Coach Craig Roberts, who was pleased to have held the 2013 Western Maine finalists to a 2-0 lead at the half. “We handled their switches and through balls pretty well until about the middle of the second half. We got tired, they found their openings.”

DaGraca put the Trojans ahead 1-0 1:23 into the game, when she hammered a shot in from the top of the box.

“Tori crossed the ball,” DaGraca said. “It hit a defender, Cass passed it through and I one-timed it in.”

Such an early goal “gives us motivation to want to get more,” Daigle said. “And it sets the tone of the game.”

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Cochrane made it 2-0 on the counterattack in the 26th minute, driving a through ball from Daigle into the lower left corner of the goal.

“Tori was moving it up the field and hit a nice through ball,” Cochrane said, “and I was able to finish.”

The Trojans then put the game away with two goals in three minutes. Daigle stripped the ball from a defender, bolted in on goal to make it 3-0 in the 52nd minute, and Senechal (54:20) knocked in the rebound of McCrum’s header that hit the crossbar.

“(Thornton) is very strong technically, and they’re well-organized,” Roberts said. “They know what they want to do when they push forward.”


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