Windham 2

South Portland 0

It didn’t take the Windham Eagles long to jump out to a lead over the South Portland girls soccer team Monday night.

In fact, it took less than six minutes for Windham to score the first goal of the game. They added an insurance goal in the second half to earn a 2-0 win over South Portland in South Portland. Audrey Quigley and Jen Levine scored for the Eagles while goalkeepers Jaci Lorenzen and Riley Graves combined for the shutout.

“We were hoping to put pressure on them and see if we could get a goal early,” said Windham head coach Wally LeBlanc. “I appreciate the hard work of our girls. South Portland certainly made us work for it.”

The Eagles did put the pressure on the Riots and managed to get one in the net early on. After a foul near the box in the South Portland end, Quigley took the direct kick. She sent it toward the net where Red Riots netminder Brianna Hawkins leapt to make the save. The ball barely evaded her outstretched fingers for a 1-0 Windham lead.

Shortly after Quigley’s goal, the Riots had a chance to tie the score with a shot coming through traffic. But Lorenzen was able to get to the ball before it could get to the net. Lorenzen played the first half for Windham and finished with two saves thanks to the Windham defense limiting the South Portland chances.

“We had an issue against Scarborough where our defense didn’t work hard enough,” LeBlanc said. “It was after a tough game against Gorham and maybe there was a little bit of a letdown. So I wondered what we would see tonight. Were they still going to have a letdown? Were they not going to believe in themselves? Collectively I thought they really did a nice job marking and limiting South Portland’s shots.”

Early in the second half, Sam Levine of Windham and Emily Masters were going for the ball at the same time and collided. Levine fell awkwardly and appeared to suffer a shoulder injury. The game was delayed for a long period while EMTs were brought in. Levine was taken to the hospital for further evaluation.

Just two minutes after the game resumed, Jen Levine, Sam’s sister, took a pass from Stacey Niedoroda and moved toward the net. Hawkins moved one way and Levine’s shot went the other and found the twine for a 2-0 Windham lead.

“It was really big,” LeBlanc said of the goal. “It was a little bit emotional when her sister went down with the injury and we were concerned for her; it was a large stoppage of play. You never know what’s going to happen when you take the field after that stoppage of play. I think she wanted to do something; she wanted to make a statement. Within two minutes or so of taking the field she went in and just buried the goal. I called her over and said ‘that one’s for Sam.’ She had a big grin on her face. I was so proud of her. She had focus and had a purpose. She’s a good player, but all the more so I think she wanted her sister to know she cared about her. That was the easiest way she could show it in that situation because she couldn’t go to the hospital.”

Riley Graves entered the game for the Eagles in goal in the second half. She picked up where Lorenzen left off and recorded three saves to preserve the shutout. None of her saves was bigger than a diving save she made with 2:11 to go in the game.

“We have two keepers fighting for a starting position and we’re trying to let these next couple games decide it,” said LeBlanc. “In that situation you can get tense and nervous. Both girls are fighting hard saying ‘look at me I want that.’ I appreciate the work their putting in. Riley’s save at the end was just a big save. It was great job for Katie Cook to come in and kick it off the line. It was a good combination; good save for Riley to make the save in the waning minutes of the game and great job for our defense especially Katie Cook to kick it out of there.”

Windham improved to 4-3 with the win while South Portland dropped to 5-4. The Eagles were scheduled to face Kennebunk on Wednesday and the Riots were set to take on Cheverus that same day.

Copy the Story Link