TOPSHAM — In a high school varsity soccer double header Tuesday, Brunswick came to town and took a pair from the Mt. Ararat soccer teams with a 2-0 victory in the boys game, and a 3-1 triumph in the girls game at Riverside Field. 

It was the first game of the season for both Mt. Ararat teams, while the Brunswick boys improve to 2-0, and the girls are now 1-1. 

In the opener, Lane Foushee netted the first goal with an unassisted tally at the 23:30 mark to give the Dragons a 1-0 lead.  

“We’re working on our communication,” the senior captain said. “New players and different roles for some, but we’re getting past it and coming together.” 

“It all runs through Lane,” Brunswick coach Mark Roma said. “He sees the field well and has an engine that doesn’t quit. He is one of the hardest workers on the team. Last year he led by example with his play and this year he’s leading and more vocal.” 

Despite Brunswick controlling the tempo early on, the Eagles nearly tied it midway through the half as Tyler Gaudreau placed a nice cross in front of the net but Dragons keeper Jack McDiarmid stepped up and grabbed the ball, denying a pair of Eagles from getting a piece of the ball for the score. 

His counterpart in net, Mt. Ararat’s James Singleton kept it a one-goal game late in the half after he foiled a Josh Musica attempt after a Foushee pass through the Eagles defense. 

The score remained 1-0 after 40 minutes of play as Brunswick led in shots, 10-2, and had the only corner of the half. 

“They wanted it more, we knew in the first half they would have possession. We just let them have it and gave up too many scoring opportunities. We’re lucky we only allowed one goal,” Mt. Ararat coach Jack Rioux said. 

Mt. Ararat came out in the second half with a little more purpose, taking over the control of the midfield as Brunswick had done in the opening half. Sebastian Varela made a clean pass to Gaudreau 10 minutes into the half, but McDiarmid came up with one of his seven second-half saves. Moments later, Varela put a cross in front, but no one was there to knock it home. 

Playing without injured defensive starter Mason Brigham, the Eagles looked to a new formation in stopping the Dragons. 

“We’ve changed our formation a bit, John (Martin) has stepped up, Xander (Kirk) stepped up as well. A lot of guys showed they could play when we needed them today,” Rioux said. 

Regardless of the formation, Rioux knows his defense starts in the net with Singleton. 

“He’s one of the best keepers in the conference and he is going to keep us in games this year,” added Rioux. 

Singleton credits the defenders in front of him for his success. 

“Our defense has been playing great. With the absence of Mason, we’ve had players step up and we’re trying a new formation in the back and I think it’s working,” Singleton, who finished with 11 saves, said. “I think once we get that piece back, we’ll be better up top and so forth.” 

Missing on scoring opportunities, coupled with nine saves from McDiarmid, the Eagles were unable to put anything on the scoreboard. 

“We had some chances here and there, but we were missing that penetrating pass just to get behind their defense,” Rioux added. 

With one-minute remaining, Brunswick’s David Nzuzi found Sebastion Miguel as Singleton stepped up in front and Miguel sent it to the back of the net for the final goal of the game. The goal was an indication of the depth the Dragons possess. 

“It’s nice to have players come in off the bench with fresh legs. It’s the first time in a while that I have had confidence in going to my bench with 20-plus kids deep and know that they can come in and get the job done,” Roma said. “We told the kids it’s a brand-new year and we’re a better team this year and we knew it was going to be hard here against Mt. Ararat so hopefully we’ll get some momentum and take it into Friday.” 

The Dragons travel to play Hampden Academy at 6 p.m. 

“We’ve been wanting this against our rival Mt. Ararat,” Foushee said. “This victory gets us off to a good start with two wins under our belt.” 

Mt. Ararat travels to face Oxford Hills on Saturday at 11 a.m.  

Girls victorious 

The second game kicked off with a little slower pace before turning into a physical battle. 

Brunswick’s Izzy Banks put up the first goal just under 11 minutes into the opening frame. An unassisted tally gave the Dragons an early lead. 

“I was dribbling and I cut it back to my right. (Coach) Martyn is always telling us to shoot with our right, so I said, ‘you know what, I have to take this,’ fortunately it was on net and it went in,” the senior captain said. 

Brunswick kept control of ball throughout the half and with seven minutes remaining, Banks lofted a shot up over Mt. Ararat goalie Elsa Daulerio for her second goal of the contest. 

“Her two goals were the difference,” Brunswick coach Martyn Davison said. “We need a player like that and not only is she a good player, she’s a good kid and influences the whole team. She pulls the team together.” 

After 40 minutes of play, Brunswick held on to the 2-0 lead at the break, outshooting the Eagles, 4-2, grabbing both corner kicks in the first half. 

Mt. Ararat coach Chad Kirk voiced his concerns to his team at halftime. 

“I told them to just play, relax. We were playing timid, even our passes backwards, we weren’t putting pace on balls,” the coach said. “We had opportunities; we just couldn’t convert.” 

The Eagles continued to push through the timid play in the second half, putting pressure on the Dragons defense, possessing the ball more than they did in the opening half. 

Three minutes into the frame, Mt. Ararat’s Ema Hawkes carried the ball into the circle with a pair of defenders pursuing and was able to get a shot on net. Brunswick’s goalie Aisley Snell blocked the ball and Mt. Ararat’s Kyla Greenleaf was there for the rebound, but Snell turned her away as well. 

A few minutes later, Hawkes drive to the net pulled Snell out as the shot deflected off the keeper and picked up by Mt. Ararat’s Alexa Gurney where the junior put the ball in the net for the score. 

With the score now 2-1, the Eagles were gaining momentum, but the Dragons defense and their play at midfield kept the Eagles opportunities at a minimum. 

With a little over 12 minutes remaining, Brunswick’s Logan Brown was able to shoot the ball over the outstretched-arms of Daulerio for the third goal of the game. 

The Dragons were able to play out the final 10 minutes, keeping Mt. Ararat from taking any shots down the stretch, clinching the 3-1 victory. 

“Today was big after our tough loss the other day to Oxford Hills (2–1),” Banks said. “I’m proud of my teammates and the freshman on our team. We’re starting to gel.” 

Davison was pleased with the result as well. 

“Tonight was a big game for us after the Oxford Hills loss. We needed the win to get some (heal) points,” the coach said. “It was a tough physical game in my opinion, but they played through it and I’m happy with the girls.” 

For Kirk and his Eagles, the game may not have been indicative of what their team is capable of, but it’s only game one. 

“It’s ok. That is what I told them,” Kirk said. “I told them ‘hey, you all know what you did and didn’t do,’ I didn’t need to explain to them what just happened. We’ll move on and go back at it at practice.” 

Brunswick hosts Hampden Academy on Friday (5:15 p.m.), while Mt. Ararat hosts Oxford Hills on Friday (3:30 p.m.) 

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