AUGUSTA — After falling behind 4-0 early in its Class B girls’ lacrosse playoff game Wednesday against Brunswick, Cony called a timeout, took a breath and began the process of climbing back into the contest.
Thanks in large part to the goaltending of Mickaela Aschbrenner ninth-seeded Brunswick withstood Cony’s comeback bid, holding on for a 9-7 win.
Brunswick (6-7) will visit No. 1 Yarmouth in the quarterfinals. Eighth-seeded Cony ends its season with a 7-6 record.
The Rams nipped at Brunswick’s heels throughout the second half, trailing by a goal until the final two minutes. Cony had more than 2-to-1 shots advantage in the second half, but Aschbrenner – who finished with 16 saves – denied several scoring opportunities.
The Dragons kept each other going during timeouts despite the change in momentum.
“We were just giving each other (motivation) … We just wanted to keep our heads in the game and really do it for our seniors,” Aschbrenner said. “We just told each other that we needed to play our position, play hard and don’t give up.”
Beth Labbe sealed the win with 1:44 remaining, bull rushing the net and snapping a shot past goalie Sarah Cook-Wheeler.
Labbe and Colleen McKearney each scored twice in the opening 15 minutes. After their timeout, the Rams responded, as Sydney Avery took a Sarah Caron pass in front of the net and slipped a shot past Aschbrenner.
Kami Lambert, Lauren Coniff and Faith Leathers-Pouliot added goals for Cony, which closed to within 7-5 by halftime.
Cony Coach Gretchen Livingston reminded her team during its first timeout to keep focus and regain confidence.
“I encouraged them to be confident with the ball in their sticks,” Livingston said. “They came out frantic almost in the first half of the first half and didn’t play with confidence … just a simple reminder that ‘You can do this,” and ‘breathe.’ I think they responded well to that, knowing a quarter (of the game) was done and we needed to win the rest of that half.”
Avery led the Rams with three goals. Caron also scored.
The Dragons got three goals from Labbe. McKearney and Emily Coffin each had two goals.
Two of Aschbrenner’s most timely saves came in the final minutes when she stopped two free-position shots.
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