After scoring just once in three games and then being held scoreless for nearly 75 minutes Thursday afternoon against Cheverus at Boulos Stadium, Falmouth’s girls’ soccer team finally rediscovered its offense.
A quick flurry, combined with stellar goalkeeping, helped the Navigators snap a three-game skid.
Senior captain Abbie Ford scored with just over five minutes to play, then senior captain Elise Gearan added an insurance tally three minutes later, lifting the Navigators a 2-0 victory.
“We’ve been struggling connecting up top lately, but we’ve worked hard in practice, so this is just the win we needed to reset,” said Ford.
Freshman goalkeeper Abigail Pausman (six saves) saved the day for Falmouth (5-4) in the first half, making two terrific stops despite staring into the sun.
First, Pausman robbed Sophia Monfa on the doorstep. She then denied a shot from Rachel LaSalle.
“I think we were ready for the sun,” said Pausman. “At first, it was kind of terrifying, but I got used to it and played through it.”
Pausman began the year as a midfielder, but when junior keeper Eve Chace suffered a knee injury in the season opener, Pausman switched positions and has excelled.
“Abigail has been superb all season,” said Falmouth’s first-year coach, Ben Johnson. “She kept us in it and did great today.”
After Pausman made another nice save shortly after the second half started, lunging to deny Lilly Hoyt, the Navigators began to apply pressure at the other end.
Ford twice shot high, but didn’t miss a third time.
With just 5:07 remaining, after two Falmouth shots were blocked in the box, the ball bounced up top to Ford, who lofted it over Cheverus goalkeeper Evelyn Rush (two saves).
“We kept our intensity up, moved some players around up front, and it worked out,” said Ford. “The ball bounced around in there. Shots got deflected. The ball came out to me and I shot with the inside of my foot to make sure it didn’t go over (the crossbar), like my other shots.”
After Pausman preserved the lead by saving a shot from Finley Brown, Gearan clinched the victory with 2:21 left, beating Rush with a shot just inside the far post.
“We’re trying to head in the right direction and get better every day,” Johnson said. “Cheverus is a great team and we had to play the entire game. It’s a good result.”
Cheverus (6-2) enjoyed a 6-4 edge in shots and a 6-1 advantage in corner kicks. The Stags had won five in a row.
“Even though we’ve come a long way as a team, and I think we’re better now than at the beginning, we’re still young,” said Cheverus Coach Craig Roberts. “We still need the ability to face some adversity and kind of turn the page quickly. Sometimes with young players, that’s tough to do.”
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