TOPSHAM

It was a bright night in Topsham on Tuesday.

Not only were “Battle of the Bridge” rivals Mt. Ararat and Brunswick duking it out under the lights, but it was Breast Cancer Awareness Night and both girls’ sides were outfitted in bright pink kits for support.

After a dominant half for each side, possession changes and near goals on both ends, Brunswick’s shade of pink proved to a tad brighter.

The Dragons carried tons of momentum into an inevitable overtime period, where Maeve Arthur’s hard work finally paid off. The striker nudged a Mt. Ararat defender off in the box before settling a long pass and rippling the back of the net with just a minute left in the first overtime period. The score sent Brunswick coach Martyn Davison into the air and gave the Dragons a 2-1 Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference win.

“I felt the goal was coming,” Davison said. “Obviously its tough for any team when you lose in overtime, particularly a local game, but I think we deserve what we got.”

After giving up an early goal and frantically running around on defense in the first half, Davison went to the whiteboard and made some personnel changes. Two midfielders wasn’t enough to combat the Mt. Ararat (5-7) attack, and he also wanted to spread the field a bit more. With the added midfielder in place and the wingers running up the line, it took Brunswick (9-3) just nine minutes to score the equalizer.

With numbers moving forward, Kira Wolpow darted by an Eagles’ defender and took in a pass on the far left side of the box. Just before reaching the end-line, she struck it across goal, where Bailey Hartill finished it over keeper Kate Guerin to make the score 1-1.

“We made a few tactical changes with the formation,” Davison said of the second frame. ‘We’ve got a lot of players missing but we tried a new formation — eventually it clicked in the second half. In fairness, we had three or four really good chances.

“We were struggling in the middle of the field. They were dominating, we couldn’t get possession. Second half, we put the extra player in midfield, went with three strikers— we kind of solidified the midfield. Gave us a bit more width as well. That created some opportunities that helped us dominate.”

The change demanded a quick adjustment from the Eagles.

“They put more pressure on us,” Mt. Ararat coach Sam Chard said. “When you put more players on the front line, it’s going to make us have to change our defensive tactics. They put pressure on our backs, which they did a nice job of doing — they freed up Maeve (Arthur) quite often.”

Arthur stormed out of the gates in overtime, getting through the back line and poking a shot just wide in the second minute of the period. About a minute later, she was in position again and made it count.

“We knew we had to get it done, so we just worked as hard as we could,” Arthur said. “Picked up the pace a lot. A lot of hard work from everyone on the team.”

Brunswick took 12 of its 16 total shots after the halftime intermission.

All Eagles

Mt. Ararat used a hyped crowd to its advantage in the early goings, cutting open the Brunswick midfield and creating danger near the box. Just four minutes in, the Eagles tested goalie Beth Labbe with a shot on frame and put an ensuing corner kick right in front of goal again, only to have it cleared.

Just over five minutes later, Labbe was forced off her line and the hosts finally broke through. After charging out all the way to the top of the box, Labbe lunged out for the ball with Mt. Ararat winger Nikki Bradstreet looming. Following a brief touch, the ball broke free and ended up on Bradstreet’s right foot. She drove it near goal where it bounced off a Dragons’ defender and rolled into the net.

“ We played really well in the first half,” Chard said. “We made some nice plays, nice passes, good shots and eventually one poked in. We played really well in the first half.”

“I thought first half, they controlled the whole game,” Davison said.”

Mt. Ararat ended up sending four corners into the box and firing seven shots in the first 40 minutes. Chard watched a free kick sail wide in the 22nd minute, and then in the 35th, another Eagles’ corner turned into a dangerous shot that narrowly missed.

Bradstreet stood out on the far right side, using her pace to get around defenders and send in crosses toward Labbe, who finished with five saves. On the other end, Guerin blocked six.

According to the Class A North standings, Mt. Ararat needed this match more — the Eagles currently sit in the No. 9 spot (one of the last two teams to make the playoffs) with two fixtures left.

Though, Chard said there isn’t much to lose.

“We’ve got absolutely no pressure on us,” Chard said. “We finish off the regular season with two games left and we play the cards we’re dealt.”

Meanwhile, Brunswick, sitting comfortably in the No. 3 spot, will merely be looking to keep the momentum going until next week.

“ It’s all about momentum,” Davison said. “We’ve been on a great run, which has been amazing. Lot of players out, we’ve battled through. We’ve pulled out some great results and tonight was a case of that — pulling out another great result.”

Brunswick 2, Mt. Ararat 1, OT

At Mt. Ararat High School

	Brunswick	—	0	1	1	—	2
Mt.	Ararat	—	1	0	0	—	1

Goals — (B) Bailey Hartill, Maeve Arthur; (MTA) Nikki Bradstreet. Assists — (B) Kira Wolpow, Bailey Hartill. Shots on goal — Brunswick 8, Mt. Ararat 6. Saves — (MTA) Kate Guerin 6; (B) Beth Labbe 5. Corner kicks — Brunswick 5, Mt. Ararat 5 Records — Brunswick 9-3, Mt. Ararat 5-7. Up next for the Dragons — Thursday at Cony, 3:30 p.m. Up next for the Eagles —Friday at Camden Hills, 3:30 p.m.