FREEPORT — Four first-half goals, including three in the first 7:27, propelled Freeport to a 4-0 victory over Poland in a Western Maine Conference field hockey game Monday night.

Natalie Anderson scored the first goal just a shade over four minutes into the game, then made it 2-0 almost three minutes later.

“Natalie (Anderson) was great getting those shots off, getting our confidence up, and then we could just play our game and work on things we needed to work on,” said Freeport Coach Marcia Wood.

Poland’s Ashton Sturtevant dives to make a save against Freeport on Monday. Freeport won 4-0.

Freeport (8-2) extended its lead to 3-0 only 24 seconds later when Kerry Lefebvre scored from Ally Randall.

“It’s really important for us to get a lead (early) because in the past we have played defensively at the start and it doesn’t push us (offensively), so (an early lead) is important,” said Amelia Farrin of Freeport.

Randall finished with two assists.

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“I think our passing game was on point today. Our passing sequences were absolutely gorgeous,” said Wood.

The Falcons made it 4-0 with 12:21 remaining in the first half on a tough goal in traffic by Aynslie Decker.

“We know that we’re getting down to crunch time and we need Heal points badly because we want to be playing on turf throughout. We’re clearly a turf team,” said Wood.

Freeport’s Natalie Anderson carries the ball after scoring a goal on Monday during a 4-0 shutout against Poland.

Poland (5-3) continued to play tough the rest of the way despite the four-goal deficit.

“That’s been our trend lately. We’re slow to start and we pick it up toward the end. That’s been our biggest challenge lately, coming out of the gate the way we played in the second half (tonight),” said Coach Mara Balboni.

The Knights were unable to score, however, because of the stout defense shown by Freeport.

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The Falcons were able to focus most of their attention on defense once they took the four-goal lead.

“We were definitely man-marking people, so we wanted to watch a few (players) we knew were going to be really good. I think once we got our first goal it gave us the confidence to keep pushing,” said Farrin.

Freeport would have won by at least eight goals if not for tremendous play by Poland goalkeeper Ashton Sturtevant.

Sturtevant made multiple impressive saves, including a few tremendous stops in the second half.

“(Sturtevant) is good. She’s a good goalie, I feel bad that (the three early goals) happened right at the beginning because it’s not reflective of what a good goalie she is,” said Wood.

Sturtevant finished with 11 saves.

“Ashton (Sturtevant) has been a rock for us. She holds our defense, she commands our defense, she is just a leader on the field; she’s our captain. She’s just a solid player all-around,” said Balboni.

Freeport held a 7-4 advantage in corners.


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