The Mt. Ararat High School girls lacrosse team struggled to a 1-4 start this season.
In those losses, the Eagles had two one- goal setbacks, a close two-goal loss to Cony and a 6-3 defeat at the hands of North Yarmouth Academy last Saturday.
Mt. Ararat used a second three-goal run to break a 3- 3 halftime deadlock, and the Eagles held on for a 6-4 win on Thursday, giving Mt. Ararat a 3- 4 mark, while the Dragons suffered their first loss to fall to 3-1.
“This team can be really good, and we have known that,” said Chard. “We lost one-goal games, and I think they know that they are a good team.”
Erin Tome’s third goal gave Mt. Ararat a 4-3 lead with 19: 50 remaining in regulation, and Sierra Gilley and Carly Raymond tallied a goal each 1: 40 apart to make for a threegoal game. Rebecca Schuman had three assists, while Gilley tallied a pair of goals.
“We had some good transitions today, and we figured things out on offense,” said Tome. “This is a very big win, especially against a rival. It was exciting today, and I think we can move forward from this.”
“We lost it a little bit and started dropping some passes, and that is where Mt. Ararat picked it up,” said Brunswick coach Steph Fisher. They never stopped. Their transition was flawless, and their goalie (Bailey Sullivan, 12 saves) was amazing. She can clear the ball to the midfield. There are not too many goalies that can do that.”
The teams are scheduled to meet again on Saturday at Topsham, weather permitting.
“I would rather not play them back to back, but at the same time if we’re playing well and the kids have the confidence we will do well,” said Chard.
“ It’s going to be hard because there are things to work on, but it is good because the fire is still there,” said Fisher. “We are playing at their field after losing to them at home, and the girls remember last year when we tied it up and ended up winning in overtime. They are hoping that we can do something like that again. Even though this was a loss, I am proud of my girls. They played their hearts out.”
Rabinowitz goal
Mt. Ararat controlled possession early, with Tome earning a free-position opportunity. Brunswick goaltender EmaLeigh Aschbrenner (eight saves) kept Tome’s attempt out of her net, and Dragons midfielder Grace Rabinowitz scooped up the groundball. She didn’t stop running, sprinting through the Mt. Ararat defense and depositing a shot past Sullivan for a 1- 0 Dragons lead.
“We wanted to get some quick goals, and when that didn’t go our way I had an opening and was able to get around their defense,” said Rabinowitz.
Mt. Ararat struck back as Gilley collected a pass from Schuman and beat Aschbrenner to the lower corner of the cage to tie the game. Tome scored the next two goals in a twominute span of the first half, with Schuman and Gilley each picking up an assist.
The Eagles held an 8- 2 shots advantage after Tome’s second goal, but Rabinowitz fired her team up, again going end-to-end and scoring to get her team within a goal, and Sarah Ferdinand evened things with a free-position goal with 4: 24 left until halftime.
Mt. Ararat changed its defense in the second half, focusing on stopping Brunswick’s quick rushes.
“We focused on siding in and shutting that door to make sure she ( Rabinowitz) can’t go through, and we decided to swarm on her and not allow her to get her shots off,” said Chard.
“They were possessing the ball in the second half and calm under pressure,” said Fisher of the Eagles. “They wanted to make us pressure them, and we tried, but they were good. They collapsed on us very fast, so we didn’t have room to get the ball forward. They swarmed and slowed us down.”
Mt. Ararat defenders Connie Hodge, Kaitlin Volk, Jordan Chase and Libby Davis kept the Dragons outside, and on the few occasions Brunswick managed to get an open look, Sullivan stood tall.
“ Our goaltending was very good today, and though our defense was a little bit slow to get going, they played well,” said Chard. “ Our transition game was really good, and once we opened it up, getting the ball up quickly really worked well.”
Anna McMillan gave the Dragons hope with 3: 52 remaining when she slipped a hard shot past Sullivan, but Mt. Ararat possessed the ball from there.
Tome and Hodge each picked up five groundballs, with Chase picking up three. Rabinowitz had five groundballs to pace Brunswick, with Caley Nicholson and Angelica Boyle adding three.
Mt. Ararat 6,
Brunswick 4
| At | Brunswick | ||
| Mt. | Ararat | — 3 3 — 6 | |
| Brunswick | — 3 1 — 4 | ||
Goals — (MA) Sierra Gilley 2, Erin
Tome 3, Carly Raymond; (B) Grace
Rabinowitz 2, Sarah Ferdinand, Anna
McMillan.
Assists — (MA) Rebecca Schuman
3, Sierra Gilley 2.
Shots — Brunswick, 17-16.
Saves — (MA) Bailey Sullivan 12,
EmaLeigh Aschbrenner 8.
Draw controls — Mt. Ararat, 9-3.
Records — Mt. Ararat 3-4,
Brunswick 3-1.
Up next — Brunswick visits Mt.
Ararat in a rematch on Saturday at 3
p.m.
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