That’s what Kennebunk girls soccer coach John Dolan had to say following Tuesday night’s Class A South quarterfinal game – and with good reason as his team traveled to No. 1 Windham and knocked off the two-time defending state champions by a 2-0 score.
“We went into the two-time defending state champions’ home today, on their field, and gave them everything they could handle and came away with a victory,” said Dolan.
The Rams, who opened the playoffs with an impressive 2-0 win over Portland last week, opened the scoring 36 minutes into the game when Leah Dumas took a pass from Sierra Tarte and beat the Windham keeper to make it 1-0.
It may have taken the Rams 36 minutes to get on the board, but it would be just two more minutes before they added to their advantage.
Hallie Schwartzman took advantage of a direct kick to put the Rams up by a 2-0 score with two minutes left in the opening half.
“The second goal was massive, not so much because it was the second goal, but because of the maturity it showed,” said Dolan, who said it was a heads up play by Schwartzman. “Windham was a little bit disorganized, Hallie set the ball down, realized they were disorganized, checked with the ref to make sure she was good to go and she took advantage.”
Another Schwartzman would come up big – on the other end of the field for the Rams.
Senior captain Kyra Schwartzman stopped eight shots in goal for the Rams, including turning away a Windham penalty kick midway through the first half and stopping three different one-on-one challenges.
“Kyra just played an outstanding game tonight,” said Dolan.
Dolan was happy with his team’s mindset and performance throughout the game.
“The girls brought a very workmanlike approach to today’s game. They did the right things with the ball, they made the right decisions,” said Dolan.
The Kennebunk coach is thrilled to watch his team not only work hard, but learn as the season goes on.
“They took the lessons from the training field and applied it to the playing field, which is what you want to see,” said Dolan. “It just shows that the kids are getting it. They have been learning how to play the game and showing good soccer IQ.”
Dolan knows that this victory will only increase his team’s confidence moving forward.
“It’s great for the girls to get confidence from a victory like this and it’s important for the program to recognize our goals that we set for ourselves and to continue to build on the success we had last year,” said Dolan, whose team won a preliminary round game last season before falling in the quarterfinals.
The Rams will now face No. 5 Marshwood, which took down Sanford in overtime last night, in the Class A South semifinals. The game will either be held Friday or Saturday.
“At this point, the girls are quietly confident … they are approaching things right with their mindset,” said Dolan. “They realize as long as they play well, they can play with any team in the state.”
— Sports Editor Pat McDonald can be reached at [email protected] or at 282- 1535 ext. 322. Follow the Journal Tribune Sports Department on Twitter @JournalTsports.
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