BRUNSWICK

Since the beginning of the 2008 high school girls soccer season, the Brunswick-Mt. Ararat rivalry has been decidedly one-sided.

Coming into Saturday’s Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference contest, the Dragons had taken nine straight wins in the series, with only two of those matchups decided by more than two goals.

After the latest meeting, the first of at least two this season, Brunswick has now upped its mark to 10 consecutive wins, this time a dominating 4-0 victory, handing the Eagles their first loss (2-1) while improving to 3-0.

“We’ve had such a long winning streak against our local rival, and that is going to end some time, but to come out and get three goals in the first 20 minutes really gave us a boost,” said Brunswick (3-0) coach Martyn Davison.

“Brunswick played a good game and were ready to play, while our girls came out slow and didn’t react,” said Mt. Ararat coach Sam Chard, whose charges will look to rebound on Thursday at Edward Little, the third of four consecutive road games for the Eagles. “Our midfielders were completely out of the game today, and Brunswick definitely took it to us.”

“People were stressed out today, our home opener and the rivalry, and we all know the other kids on Mt. Ararat, playing against many of our friends,” said Brunswick senior Anna Cowan. “It was cool to play Mt. Ararat here, and to have them in our first home game really got us psyched.”

Quick start

Brunswick wasted little time in taking control. Using speed through the middle of the field, the Dragons created problems for the Eagles.

Lyse Henshaw sent a pass in front of Kassidy Scarponi. Mt. Ararat starting goaltender Michelle Pelletier (four saves) raced out to boot the ball away, but hit Scarponi, who gained control of the bouncing ball and scored into the vacated cage four minutes into the game.

“We have three strikers, so we try to make those little passes and use our speed,” said Davison, who watched his Dragons double the advantage three minutes later.

Scarponi sent a hard cross that bounced away from Pelletier, with Paige Tetu on the spot to give Brunswick a 2-0 lead.

Tetu set up Henshaw for the third Brunswick goal, sending a corner kick toward the net. Henshaw managed to dig the ball away from the Mt. Ararat defense and into the cage.

“Three goals in 20 minutes is a real good start for us, and the kids were really in to it,” said Davison.

Mt. Ararat pushed back in the final six minutes of the first half, sending six consecutive shots toward the Brunswick net. Dragon netminder Haley Murano made six of her nine saves to keep the Eagles off the board, and Cowan completed the scoring in the second half, beating Mt. Ararat goaltender Lauren Williams (six saves).

“We changed our position a little bit, and our strikers up front were able to combat their good midfielders,” said Cowan.

Chard is confident his team can beat Brunswick, but needs to believe it.

“We had a few chances, but were just off in every aspect of the game,” said Chard. “We have to get our mental game back. We know we can beat Brunswick, but just can’t come in already beaten before the game started. When our passing is on, we are really good and it is a beautiful thing to see, but today was not what we were looking for.”

Brunswick, which hosts Edward Little on Tuesday (3:30 p.m.), finished with a 19- 15 shot advantage, with the Eagles holding a slight edge in corner kicks, 4-3.

Brunswick 4,
Mt. Ararat 0

At Brunswick High School
Mt. Ararat — 0 0 — 0
Brunswick — 3 1 — 4

Goals — (B) Kassidy Scarponi, Paige
Tetu, Lyse Henshaw, Anna Cowan.
Assists — (B) Kassidy Scarponi, Paige
Tetu, Rachel Moroney.
Shots — Brunswick, 19-15.
Saves — (MA) Michelle Pelletier 4, Lauren Williams 6; (B) Haley Murano 9.
Corner kicks — Mt. Ararat, 4-3.
Records — Brunswick 3-0, Mt. Ararat
2-1.
Next — The Dragons host Edward Little
on Tuesday at 3:30 p.m., while the
Eagles visit the Red Eddies on Thursday
at 3:30 p.m.