KENNEBUNK — While the rain certainly didn’t hold off until the end of the Class A girls’ soccer prelim Saturday, eighth-seeded Kennebunk managed to keep ninth-ranked Bonny Eagle scoreless in the second half for a 1-0 victory.
“One-nothing is a dangerous score – they could have come back at any time,” Kennebunk Coach Shannon Cavanaugh said. “Bonny Eagle is a good team and they wanted it. It felt nice to hold it off.”
Hallie Schwartzman scored 29 minutes into the first half on a penalty kick for the Rams (8-6-1), who will play at top-ranked Gorham in the quarterfinals Wednesday.
The Scots ended their season at 7-7-1.
“We were trying to play to each other’s feet – we knew it was going to be slippery and wet,” Schwartzman said. “We have quick forwards so we were trying to hit them up top.”
The Rams controlled most of the first half, producing four shots on goal while allowing Bonny Eagle just one.
With 11 minutes left before halftime in a scoreless game, Elizabeth Cain of Kennebunk carried the ball downfield on a breakaway before getting tripped up in the box by a defender.
Schwartzman capitalized on the penalty kick, placing the ball in the upper corner beyond the reach of goalkeeper Sydney Gillingham for the 1-0 lead.
“You and the goalie pick your spot, and you place it,” Schwartzman said. “We practice those shots all the time but in practice, it’s only so exciting. Then you do it in the game and it ends up being the difference.”
Gillingham finished with seven saves. Adia Grogan recorded five for the shutout.
With their season on the line, the Scots stepped it up in the second half – matching Kennebunk’s five shots with five of their own.
“With us, you’re not sure who you’re going to get – it’s a little bit of Jekyll and Hyde,” Bonny Eagle Coach Ed Taylor said.
“In the first half we were flat. In the second half they pressed and did everything they were supposed to do.”
Meanwhile, the mist from the first half turned into a downpour for most of the second, which Schwartzman said made maintaining possession a challenge for the Rams.
“We tried to possess as much as we could but it was wet out there, and you can only control so much,” Schwartzman said. “The last 15 minutes were crazy. It’s always hard knowing that your season is coming to an end, so both teams were just trying to lock it in. It was an evenly matched game. Today it happened to go our way.”
Bonny Eagle didn’t threatened to score until late in the game. With two minutes left, freshman Emily Byrne took a shot from deep but Grogan made the save. It was the closest the Scots would get to extending their season.
“We’re young and inexperienced, and we had glimpses of that today,” Taylor said, noting Bonny Eagle is graduating just two seniors. “I know as a coach that experience comes with time. Once that catches up with this group, there’s a very bright future for them.”
As for Kennebunk, Cavanaugh said entering the matchup against Gorham as the underdogs “is a good position to be in.”
“We’ve just got to play our game,” Cavanaugh said. “If we prepare for Gorham, we’re just going to stress ourselves out. It’s just a game.”
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