Somehow, the junior regained her composure and legged the ball past goalie Marissa Parks as the Dragons edged the Shipbuilders, 1-0 in girls Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference soccer action on Tuesday.
“I really wanted to score,” said the midfielder of her goal with 20 minutes remaining in regulation. “The defender came at me and all I can think about is how bad I wanted to score.”
Brunswick remained undefeated at 6-0, while Morse fell to 3-2-1.
The Dragons showed early on how cohesive they can be on offense. Keeping most of the action in their offensive end, firing shot after shot, even committing a few offside penalties as a result of their anxiousness.
“Our finishing was off today. Everything else was great,” said Brunswick coach Martyn Davison. “We knew they were going to try to pack in and play very deep and crowd the box.”
Sara Scrapchansky, Lea’s sister, kept the Morse defenders moving with her quick feet, maneuvering in and out of the defense, taking shots towards the goal. Parks turned away a pair of her shots in the first 10 minutes.
Over the next 20 minutes, Brunswick continued its pressure as Emily Larochelle fired a direct kick on goal from about 40- yards out with Parks handling the shot, one of her nine first half saves.
Parks was tested by Maeve Arthur and Sara Scrapchansky as each had one-on-one opportunities. Parks turned every scoring chance away.
“She’s grown into that position over the years. When the ball is at the 18 yard, we know she can get to it,” said Morse coach Steve Boyce.
With 14 minutes left in the first half, Lea Scrapchansky crossed to Arthur, but Parks came out and broke the play up. Three minutes later, Parks repeated her actions, breaking up another Brunswick attack.
Brunswick’s best scoring opportunity in the first half came with just over 10 minutes remaining when Sara Scrapchansky hit the crossbar and Arthur grabbed the rebound, shooting on net as the senior netminder grabbed another save.
The half ended in a scoreless tie despite Brunswick out-shooting the Shipbuilders 17-2. The Dragons had four corners to Morse’s none.
“We had three or four phenomenal chances in the first half. Other days those go in and it’s a different game,” said Davison.
To open the second half, the Dragons continued their pressure, but Morse answered the attacks.
“We expected that because they’re an offensive team. We felt really comfortable with Marissa taking most of the shots and deal with them,” said Boyce.
While Brunswick continued taking shots at Parks, the Dragon defense was able to win balls in the midfield, not allowing any Morse shots on goal until late in the game.
Brunswick missed another excellent scoring opportunity when Lea Scrapchansky put the ball in front of the net off a corner kick. A missed header by Isabella Banks bounced to the ground and was headed by Katherine Hartnett for another shot that was yet again stopped by Parks.
“I’ve been playing soccer with my defense since I was 6-years old. We’ve known each other for so long. Knowing each other for so long I think allows us to play well together,” said Parks.
With just under 23 minutes remaining, Lea Scrapchansky crossed a pass to Anna Kousky. The junior striker legged a shot on goal that Parks knocked away. Kousky gathered the rebound but hit the side of the post, resulting in a goal kick.
Just a few minutes later, Lea Scrapchansky scored the game’s only score with 19:43 remaining.
“Lea’s perseverance came out to get a scrappy goal there,” added Davison.
Morse continued to try to push the ball downfield, but failed to gain any steam against the Brunswick defense.
Morse’s Julia Cliffe remained aggressive until the end. With 3:33 left, she raced Brunswick goalie Beth Labbe to a loose ball in front of the net. The two arrived at the ball at the same time and the ball popped up, falling to the Brunswick defense.
“Beth made a big save for us down towards the end,” said Davison. “They’re human beings and can feel pressure, I was happy with her.”
Parks made 18 saves in net, while Labbe turned away all three shots she faced in the shutout.
The Dragons outshot the Shipbuilders 34-5.
“Twenty minutes into the second half, we did OK. We held our own and controlled the ball for a little bit. We have a lot of respect for them and I think we ate into that a little. They’re the best in the north,” said Boyce.
Lea Scrapchansky closed out by saying, “We always try to work as a team. We did that out on the field today. Yeah, I think we could have done better with some things, but all in all, we played well today.”
Brunswick 1, Morse 0
At Brunswick
| Morse | — | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
| Brunswick | — 0 | 1 | — | 1 |
Goal — Lea Scrapchansky. Shots — Brunswick 34, Morse 5. Saves — (Mo) Marissa Parks 18, (B) Beth Labbe 3. Corner kicks — Brunswick 4, Morse 0 Records — Brunswick 6-0, Morse 3- 2-1. Up next for the Shipbuilders — Thursday home vs. Medomak Valley, 5 p.m. Up next for the Dragons — Saturday at Hampden Academy, 1 p.m.
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