CUMBERLAND — A freshman came to the rescue on Greely’s Senior Night and as a result, the Rangers continue to surge in Class B South.
Greely suffered through several near misses on Tuesday when it hosted Freeport at Glen A Hutchins Field before freshman Avery Bush finished a free kick from senior Allie Read with 15 minutes remaining. That was enough for the Rangers to win 1-0 and improve to 8-3-1.
“We have a young team, but I think (defending state champion) Cape and Yarmouth know that we can compete with them,” said Greely Coach Rachel Williams. “On any given night, it’s anybody’s game.”
In the first half, the Falcons (5-6-1) took three corner kicks and tried to spring Luci Bourgeois and Emily Olsen on long runs, but the Rangers’ defense held firm.
“(Freeport’s) fast, but I think it came down to us just wanting it,” said Read. “I wanted to win this game so badly for my parents and for my teammates. The more you want it, the harder you’re going to work.”
Greely had a 4-2 shot advantage in the first half, but Falcons’ goalkeeper Lauren Roussel (five saves) stopped a pair of shots from Molly Partridge and another from Lily Pierce to keep the game scoreless.
After Rangers goalkeeper Elise Ekowicki (six saves) kept Freeport off the board by denying Olsen, and after Pearl Peterson sent an Olsen cross high, Greely produced the game’s lone goal off a set piece.
With 15:01 remaining, after a Falcons’ foul, Read served a long free kick into the box where Bush ran on to the ball and fired it past Roussel, who had no chance to make the stop.
“No one had me on the back post and I was wide open,” said Bush. “I was hoping Allie would see me and she did.”
“Avery’s physically really strong, she’s not afraid of anything and she’ll go to the goal,” added Williams.
Eckowicki had to make two more saves to preserve the win, denying Taryn Curry and Bourgeois.
Greely, now 6-1-1 in its last eight outings, appears to be peaking heading into the postseason and could be the team best equipped to derail an expected Cape Elizabeth-Yarmouth regional final.
“We’re good,” said Read, one of multiple Rangers who won a lacrosse state title in June. “I think we can be a team to beat in the playoffs. Our team chemistry is absolutely insane.”
Freeport had ample opportunity to come away with a win, or at least a tie, but was just one touch shy on multiple occasions.
“We’ve got to do a better job in the offensive end,” said Falcons Coach David Intraversato. “We’ve talked about it all year and we’ve just had trouble scoring goals.
“Hopefully we can use these games as practice for the playoffs because the girls know we can play with good teams.”
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