The Brunswick High School girls soccer team went through some strange occurrences this season.
Figure, the Dragons lost their first two games and seemed vulnerable against Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference squads that they routinely have defeated with ease in years past.
But, things certainly have turned around as witnessed by Brunswick’s hard-fought 3-2 “Battle of the Bridge” victory over rival Mt. Ararat on Tuesday in a game played in a steady drizzle.
The victory highlighted a strong finish for the Dragons, who will head to the Eastern Maine Class A postseason on a 7-1-1 run while ending the Eagles’ six-game winning streak and handing Mt. Ararat just its second loss (12-2).
Anna Cowan’s second goal of the game with 15:53 remaining in regulation gave the Dragons their third one-goal edge of the contest. She fought off two defenders and charging Mt. Ararat goaltender Kate Guerin, chipping the ball over a crowd and into the vacated net.
“I have had a lot of shots that I thought were going in and didn’t, so this one makes up for it,” said Cowan of her game-winning goal. “We did not have a great mental attitude after losing some games early, but once we scored today we knew we could do it. We are staircases ahead of where we were earlier this season. We have bonded so well as a team. Everybody knows each other and we are there to support one another.”
“Brunswick did a good job and played well,” added Mt. Ararat coach Sam Chard. “They played a smart, good game, and we came out really flat today. When you have a young team, it is hard to get them focused at times.
“We had a lot of turnovers and it reminded me of our first game against Messalonskee (a 4-2 Mt. Ararat win) when we gave up a couple goals and made a couple silly mistakes. We need to focus on finishing, not taking panic shots from 40 yards out. We had some wide-open nets and we didn’t get them in.”
Back and forth
Both teams had their chances while carrying the play in the opening frame. Brunswick, behind Anna Cowan, Madeline Cowan, Julia Champagne and Kassidy Scarponi took the first three shots and jumped ahead 1-0 when Madeline Cowan headed in a corner kick from Scarponi at the 14-minute mark.
Mt. Ararat answered with a goal of its own as Christine Levesque cleaned up a rebound of a Nikki Bradstreet shot 1:12 later.
Brunswick netminder Haley Murano was busy in the first half, making six saves, including a diving stop of a Torri Pelletier attempt.
The Dragons claimed a 2-1 halftime lead as Anna Cowan’s slippery shot slipped through the hands of Guerin (three saves) with 15:30 remaining until halftime.
Chard challenged his team to up the intensity, and the Eagles listened to begin the second half. Mt. Ararat trapped the Dragons in their defensive zone for the first 10 minutes and tied the game when Libby Ouellette beat Murano after receiving a pass from Erin Tome.
“They are a really scrappy team and so tough to play, and we know they will always come at us because they are our rivals,” said Brunswick defender Lyse Henshaw of the Eagles.
“Sam gave us a really good pep talk, and we knew the first half didn’t go our way and that we needed to step it up,” said Mt. Ararat midfielder Katie Labbay, who launched six shots toward the Brunswick cage in the second half.
“It was a good start to the second half and we got a goal out of it,” said Chard.
Brunswick tilted the field in its favor as Caley Nicholson put a shot on goal that Guerin handled, and Anna Cowan launched a shot from 20 yards that skipped inches wide of the cage, but her next opportunity gave the Dragons the lead for good.
“This is a big win, our best win of the season. Early on, we were still trying to get into our form, and now we have settled in and are working really well as a team,” said Anna Cowan.
“Anna lifted the team and it won the game,” said Davison. “Sometimes grit is the difference between winning and losing, and it was just a great game to watch.”
“It is just a shame that we couldn’t keep the momentum in the second half,” said Labbay. “We just didn’t have our game today. Against Hampden (a 2-0 Eagles win on Saturday) we played as a team and won, and today we just didn’t take this game as serious as we could have.”
Murano turned aside 11 shots in the win. Mt. Ararat outshot the Dragons 18-8 and held a slight 4-3 advantage in corner kicks. Brunswick defenders Julia Carpenter, Aidan Sachs, Henshaw and Lena Martin did a good job forcing several Mt. Ararat shots wide of the goal, while the Eagles’ defensive effort was led by Anna Manuel, Lauren Labbay and Danielle Krause.
Brunswick 3, Mt. Ararat 2
At Brunswick High School
Mt. Ararat — 1 1 — 2
Brunswick — 2 1 — 3
Goals — (MA) Christine Levesque, Libby Ouellette; (B) Madeline Cowan, Anna Cowan 2.
Assists — (MA) Nikki Bradstreet, Erin Tome; (B)
Kassidy Scarponi, Caley Nicholson, Julia Champagne. Shots — Mt. Ararat 18, Brunswick 8.
Saves — (MA) Kate Guerin 3; (B) Haley Murano 8.
Corner kicks — Mt. Ararat 4, Brunswick 3.
Records — Brunswick 9-4-1; Mt. Ararat 12-2.
Up next — Both teams will be at home for the
Eastern Maine Class A quarterfinals next week,
time TBA.
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