SACO — Amanda Arnold’s goal early in the second half stood as the winner as Thornton Academy knocked off Cheverus 3-1 in a Western Class A girls’ soccer game Wednesday at Thornton Academy.
The win moved the Golden Trojans to 8-1-1 while the Stags suffered their first loss to drop to 7-1-2.
Additional Photos
“(The win) was definitely a confidence builder because they are a really tough team to play against,” said Arnold, one of Thornton Academy’s most dangerous forwards. “They are really good and were good competition for us.”
A stiff wind was evident throughout and Cheverus had the first opportunity to use it to their advantage in the first half. The Stags capitalized early, scoring 8 minutes, 30 seconds into the game when Abby Maker set up Sade Lyons for a 1-0 Stags lead.
Thornton Academy persevered and was rewarded with 13 minutes left in the half. Victoria Cooper sent a long ball into the teeth of the wind and to the front of the goal to Jaime Durie. Cheverus goalkeeper Mikayla Mayberry charged out to knock the ball away but the carom landed on the foot of Megan Hurrell and her shot floated high and dropped over the retreating keeper and a defender to tie the score.
“That goal was really awesome, I thought,” said Durie, who played a role in all three Thornton Academy scoring chances in the first half.
“We worked really hard to get that goal and it gave us hope because we came into the game thinking that this was going to be a tough game. To get that goal to tie it just gave us more desire to go and win.”
Cheverus had one last chance to restore their lead in the final minute of the first half. Maker made a long run up field and was fouled just outside the penalty box. Alli Thomas sent the resulting free kick — from about 25 yards out — wide and the half ended even at 1.
“I like the fact that we responded,” said Thornton Academy Coach Chris Kohl. “We kept our cool and we didn’t fold under any pressure. It’s twice now that we’ve come back on good teams. It would be nice not to give up the goal early but in the same token it really is good to come back and fight. Now they know how to do that. It’s really good to come away with a good quality win.”
Similar to their opponent, the Golden Trojans struck early with the wind on their side. Arnold took a lead pass from Tori Daigle 2:54 into the second half and sent a 15-yard shot to the back of the net for the go ahead goal.
Katilyn Coburn completed the scoring when she connected on a penalty shot with 41.6 second remaining in regulation.
“If we stay 1-0 at the half I think we’re in good shape,” said Cheverus Coach Dan LaVallee.
“Both teams played really hard, I have to give them credit for that. I think we got a little too wound up for part of the second half and it cost us. You have to maintain your focus. I really thought we were pressing up until that point and then that was it.”
Copy the Story Link
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.