FREEPORT

With the season winding down, the Freeport High School girls soccer team knows there are no games to waste.

With a strong defensive effort and a pair of Catriona Gould goals, the Falcons soared to a 2-0 victory over Lake Region in an Western Maine Conference clash.

The Falcons are currently sitting less than six points behind Morse for fourth place in the Class B South Heal Point Standings. The team knows they need to keep getting better at the things they work on in practice. The best place to put those teachings to task is in a game.

“We focus a lot on angle of approach, and not let them circle in,” said junior Abbye Koenig. “Once we have them in the right spot, we cut them off. Which I think is great, because we’ve been working on that all season.”

The aggressive defense came out strong in the first half behind Koenig, Sarah Gray and Abby Brier. Any time Lake Region cleared the ball, the Falcons stepped in, taking away the middle of the field.

“They have some really strong players with No. 6 (Neva Leavitt) and No. 14 (Chandler True),” said Freeport coach Elayna Girardin. “We wanted to make sure on defense to not let them beat us.”

Offensively, Freeport wasted little time firing balls at Lakers goalie Madison Rock. In the first 10 minutes, Freeport had six shots, two on target, while taking a pair of corners.

At 26:53, Gould tallied her first goal by picking up a loose ball and slipping past defenders before tapping it past Rock, who had come out to make the save.

“What’s nice with Cat is when she has it, she can take them down one by one,” said Girardin.

“One of the things we work on is getting the ball down field with good runs,” said Gray. “That’s one of my jobs, get Cat the ball.”

Lake Region nearly picked up a goal when Leavitt popped a ball up in the air in front of netminder Carly Intraversato. The freshman let the ball bounce in front of her, allowing it to hit the hard surface and bounce over her. She dove backwards to knock the ball from going into the net.

Meanwhile, the defense continued to shine for the home team. Any type of run the Lakers made, somebody from Freeport was always there to make a stop, often driving the ball right back into the Freeport offensive zone.

The Falcons finished the half out-shooting Lake Region, 12-4.

The visiting Lakers came onto the field in the second half with a little change in their game-plan, looking to generate some offense.

“He (Lake Region coach Peter Webb) made great adjustments at halftime, isolating his two best players, to make them more dangerous,” said Girardin. “I’m confident in what our defense can do, so we were able to keep girls back, hoping to score another goal.”

While the Lakers won more balls at midfield than they had in the first half, shots were still far and few in between. Abbie King continued to be around the ball on both sides of midfield, dashing any hopes of Lake Region making a run.

Midway through the second frame, both True and Leavitt got shots on goal, but Intraversato turned them away to keep the game at 1-0.

“She’s great in goal,” added Girardin. “ She made some big saves.”

Gould almost registered her second goal at the 15- minute mark when Becca Cameron fed her the ball, and the sophomore’s shot went off the fingertips of Rock and over the net.

With 4:20 remaining in regulation, the Lakers took their second corner of the half. Looking to punch one in to tie the score, Leavitt legged the ball into a crowd of players in front of the net. Once again, Freeport emerged as Koenig handled the incoming ball.

In transition, Gould picked up the rolling ball and sprinted down the middle of the field. Weaving in and out of a pair of defenders, the midfielder gave Rock no chance for the save, blasting it into the back of the net for the insurance goal.

“A lot of teams double team her, opening up space on the field. She’s best when working that space and drives down the field,” said Girardin. “She scores when it counts.”

The Lakers did not cross midfield much from there, and the Falcons came away with the 2-0 victory.

Despite a more aggressive attack in the second half by the Lakers, Freeport held the advantage in both shots (18-4), and corners (6-2) in the final frame.

Freeport closes out the season with games against Poland and Fryeburg, both at home.

“We’re working on our runs, getting ready for the big teams down the road,” added Gray.

Rock made 15 saves for the Lakers (4-7-1), while Intraversato turned away four in the shutout.

Freeport 2, Lake Region 0

At Hunter Road Fields in Freeport

Lake		Region	— 0	0	—	0
Freeport		—	1	1	—	2

Goals — (F) Catriona Gould 2. Shots — Freeport 29, Lake Region 8. Saves — (LR) Madison Rock 15, (F) Carly Intraversato 4. Corner kicks — Freeport 9, Lake Region 4. Records — Freeport 8-4, Lake Region 4-7-1. Up next for the Falcons — Saturday at home against Poland at 11:45 a.m.