BATH — Bry Shea netted the first three goals of the game as Richmond raced out to a 6-0 halftime lead, cruising to a 7-1 victory over Searsport in girls high school Class D South quarterfinal action played at McMann Field.

The game was played in Bath due to wet field conditions in Richmond following the weekend rain.

No. 2 Richmond improved to 11-3 and will face the winner of No. 6 Rangeley and No. 3 Buckfield on either Friday or Saturday at a site and time to be determined. No. 7 Searsport ends the season 3-12.

“I am happy that the girls came ready to play tonight,” Richmond coach Troy Kendrick said. “We haven’t played in almost a week and a half and they were chomping at the bit. They wanted to come out and play, they were worried it would be cancelled, but Mr. Spear was able to get this venue and everyone was happy to be playing.”

Just over seven minutes in, Shea grabbed a pass from senior Rylie Irish and tapped it to the far corner to beat Searsport keeper Sarah Gent for the score.

“We were told before this game that if you put it in the corner it’s going to go, that the goalie won’t be able to get it,” Shea said. “We got all hyped up listening to music on the way down and we came out ready to play.”

It didn’t take long for the Bobcats, more specifically Shea, to find the back of the net again. The junior scored two more times over the next four-and-a-half minutes to boost the Richmond lead to 3-0.

“We were looking to play some quick one-two’s and playing into the space,” Kendrick said about the offensive attack. “Bry was sniffing around and pounced on those balls.”

Shea echoed Kendrick’s words.

“Coach always tells us to sniff for the ball, if there is ever one out there, you just have to tap it right in,” Shea, who was assisted by Abby Johnson and Paige Lebel on her second and third goals, said.

Richmond, who typically plays most of their games, including all of its home games on grass, welcomed the turf of McMann Field. The Bobcats took advantage of the wide field and consistent surface to play their style of soccer.

Before the half was over, Leah Wescott and Laura Brown each scored a goal and an assist, and Johnson finished off the first half scoring with a tally of her own for a 6-0 lead at the break.

“We get to play a little on the turf, but the style we play, the ground keep it on the carpet short stuff – that style really plays to our advantage,” Kendrick said. “I thought we moved the ball around well tonight, I liked the way we exploited the big field and spread them out and swung the ball and changed the point of attack a lot. We picked our spots and tried to attack those gaps we created.”

Richmond outshot the Vikings, 11-1 in the first half, holding a slight advantage in corner kicks, 2-1.

Searsport played Richmond a lot closer in the second half, limiting the Bobcat opportunities, but were unable to create many of their own. After Brown netted her second goal of the game for Richmond, the Vikings knocked home their only shot of the second frame as Makenzie Alley found Jordan Greeley inside the box and she beat Richmond keeper Liz Johnson for the score with two minutes remaining.

Richmond finished with 15 shots on goal as Gent made eight saves for the Vikings. Liz Johnson had one save in the win.

“We had fun on the turf, I really like it and hopefully we get to play some more on some,” Shea said as the Bobcats will have more opportunities to play on turf if they advance.

“We’ll see how Rangeley and Buckfield goes,” Kendrick said. “We’re familiar with them both and we’re ready for whoever we face.”

Although Richmond did not face Buckfield during the regular season, both playing in the East-West Conference together the last several years in most sports gives the Bobcats some familiarity. Richmond defeated Rangeley twice this season, 3-0 and 4-1.

 

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