BRUNSWICK

For most of the first 70 minutes of Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference girls high school soccer action on Tuesday, Brunswick out-possessed and out-chanced “Battle of the Bridge” rival Mt. Ararat in the first meeting of two this season.

Still, the Eagles, under first-year coach Chad Kirk, hung around, trailing just 1-0. What Kirk was looking for throughout the contest was for his team to create a chance, something he saw with shots by Ryley Leech and Alexa Gurney that nearly evened the contest late in regulation.

However, the Dragons were just too tough on this day, scoring three late goals for a 4-0 victory and a perfect 4-0 start to the season. Kirk’s Eagles fell to 1-1-1.

Brunswick coach Martyn Davison admitted that he was concerned in the second half when Mt. Ararat made a push to tie the contest.

“I have seen these games before, where you dominate possession and don’t take your chances, and as long as it was one to nil, that was the worry,” said Davison, whose Dragons visit Bangor on Thursday at 6 p.m.

“We had more opportunities in the second half,” Kirk said after watching his team attempt seven shots in the after halftime. “We are going to get better. We are not going to hang our head and we’re going to move on. We had those opportunities, and it could have been 1-1. It doesn’t matter if you lose by one or lose by five. We’re young. We want to just keep improving, maybe see them here in the playoffs.”

Dragons domination

Brunswick dominated the opening 40 minutes, keeping the Eagles pinned in their defensive zone throughout. The Dragons held an 18-1 shot advantage, but only led 1-0 at the half as Lea Scrapchansky finished a pass from Emily Larochelle at the 12-minute mark.

Mt. Ararat goaltender Zoe Stilphen made several solid stops, turning aside 12 Brunswick chances in the opening frame. Twice she dove to deflect a quality scoring chance from senior Maeve Arthur, along with point- blank saves on Marley Groat and Sara Scrapchansky.

“Sometimes it is hard to find our shape, but we definitely learned a lot today, knowing that we have to get to the ball more and communicate,” said Stilphen, who finished with 16 saves.

“Zoe played incredible, and we were able to keep them to the outside,” said Kirk of his goaltender and his defense of Ema Hawkes, Katelyn Hutchins, Heather Gallant, Kyla Greenleaf and Gurney, who moved forward in the second half as the Eagles went for the tying goal.

Brunswick keeper Beth Labbe (four saves) made her best stop with 22:53 remaining in the contest, getting her hands on a Gurney try from the top of the box. Later in the second frame, the Eagles earned back-to-back direct kicks that saw Leech sending dangerous passes in front of Labbe.

With Mt. Ararat pressing for the tie, Brunswick used a quick transition to double its lead. Emma Banks sent a long pass to Lea Scrapchansky, who made a move on an Eagles defender before slipping a shot past the dive of Stilphen for a 2-0 edge.

“I was glad Lea got the goals, especially the second one. It relieved a lot of the tension for sure,” said Davison of Scrapchansky’s goal with 9:02 remaining.

“We tried our best, and for us it is heart, hustle and hard work, and I think it was a good game all together,” said Lea Scrapchansky. “We really worked well together, and we were able to finish the job out there today.”

Arthur finished Mt. Ararat off, scoring twice in the game’s final three minutes. Lea Scrapchansky earned an assist on Arthur’s second goal.

“We played pretty well, and I think the end score was a fair comment for the game,” said Davison. “It was frustrating throughout the game, knowing what can happen. Mt. Ararat battled hard. Give them credit, they never gave up on a rather warm day.”

Brunswick finished with a 32-8 shot advantage, along with a 7-1 edge in corner kicks.

Mt. Ararat will look to rebound on Friday, visiting Camden Hills at 3:30 p.m.

Brunswick 4, Mt. Ararat 0

At Brunswick

Mt.	Ararat	—	0	0	—	0
Brunswick		—	1	3	—	4

Goals — (B) Lea Scrapchansky 2, Maeve Arthur 2. Assists — (B) Emily Larochelle, Emma Banks, Lea Scrapchansky. Shots — Brunswick 32, Mt. Ararat 8. Saves — (MtA) Zoe Stilphen 16, (B) Beth Labbe 4. Corner kicks — Brunswick 7, Mt. Ararat 1. Records — Brunswick 4-0, Mt. Ararat 1-1-1. Up next for the Eagles — Friday at Camden Hills, 3:30 p.m. Up next for the Dragons — Thursday at Bangor, 6 p.m.