Greely senior Wren Payne, left, congratulates junior Megan Beaulieu after Beaulieu’s goal during the Rangers’ 5-0 win over Cape Elizabeth Thursday afternoon.
Joe Carpine 365digitalphotography.com photos.
More photos below.
CUMBERLAND—Delia Knox delivered on her promise and Greely’s field hockey never looked back Thursday afternoon against Cape Elizabeth.
Knox, a sophomore, told her coaches and teammates prior to the game that she’d score the first goal and she did so, just 38 seconds in, and the Rangers had a 1-0 lead.
Before the first half was over, junior Zahria McLean, senior Courtney Rog and senior Maddy Perfetti (off a penalty corner) added goals to give Greely a commanding 4-0 advantage.
Capers junior goalie Christiana Pinette did all she could to keep her team in the game, making a whopping 32 saves, but junior Megan Beaulieu added one final score to help the Rangers prevail, 5-0.
Greely got five goals from five different players, won its second straight game, improved to 2-1 and dropped Cape Elizabeth to 0-2 in the process.
“We’ve been waiting to tap into our full potential,” first-year Rangers coach Chelsea Morley said. “We talk every practice about starting off strong and about consistency and we came out with something to prove and I’m so proud of them.”
Start of something
Greely lost its opener, 5-2, to visiting Freeport, then held off host Gray-New Gloucester, 3-2, Tuesday to give Morley her first win with the program.
“That win was big for confidence,” Perfetti said. “We came out with intensity, especially after losing by three goals to Freeport.”
“It’s always tough starting a season with a loss, so it was good to get a win the other day,” Morley said.
Cape Elizabeth started with a 1-0 home loss to Gray-New Gloucester, then didn’t play a countable game for a week.
Last year, each team prevailed at home by a 1-0 score (the Capers’ victory came in double overtime).
Entering play, since the start of the 2001 season, Greely had won 22 times, Cape Elizabeth 12 and two other games ended in ties (see sidebar, below).
Thursday, on a 77-degree afternoon, the Rangers made it two in a row in the series, posting their biggest win over the Capers since a 6-0 triumph in the 2002 Western Class B semifinals.
Greely won possession to begin the game, worked its way into Cape Elizabeth’s defensive zone and Perfetti passed to Knox, who fired a shot that Pinette saved before Knox grabbed the rebound and sent it into the cage for a 1-0 lead just 38 seconds into the contest.
“Coach asked who would score the first goal and I wanted to score, so I said, ‘Me,'” Knox said. “I felt confident and I knew I could do it. I just went down and did the work. I just stayed with it.”
“In our first game against Freeport, we got scored on right away,” Perfetti said. “We liked being the team to do that today.”
The fun was just beginning for the hosts, as after Perfetti missed just wide, Beaulieu missed wide, Perfetti had a shot deflected over the cage, Knox had a shot off a penalty corner saved and Perfetti missed wide on the rebound and Capers sophomore defender Hayley McIntyre swept a ball off the line, Knox set up McLean for a shot that Pinette couldn’t stop and the Rangers were on top, 2-0, with 16:47 remaining in the half.
Cape Elizabeth then generated its lone offensive foray of the half and earned a corner, but couldn’t produce a shot.
At the other end, McLean just missed, then got the ball back and fed Rog for a goal and a 3-0 advantage with 11:28 on the clock.
Pinette kept the deficit at three by denying senior Maggie McCormick and Knox twice, but with 39 seconds to go before the break, off a corner, Knox inserted the ball up top to Perfetti, who fired it into the cage to make it 4-0.
“I work on those hits a lot,” Perfetti said. “I love when they go in, but my teammates are down there screening the defense, so that’s why it went in. I owe it to those forwards.”
Greely had a 17-0 shots advantage and a 6-1 edge in penalty corners in the first half and got goals from four different girls.
“It’s amazing to have that balance,” Morley said. “We’re getting assists too. I can rely on anyone who’s out there. We’re not a one-player scoring team. Having multiple players score speaks volumes about our team. “
“I was shocked it was only 4-0 at halftime,” said Cape Elizabeth coach Maura Bisogni. “They came out hot and we came out flat. The grass is a change for us, but that wasn’t the only factor.”
Pinette did her best to prevent further damage, frustrating senior Wren Payne, Knox, Perfetti, sophomore Hannah Perfetti and Knox twice.
After the Capers took their only shot of the game, which wasn’t even on frame, the Rangers got their final goal with 8 minutes to play, as Payne set up Beaulieu for a shot which Pinette couldn’t stop and Greely went on to a 5-0 victory.
“We have a really powerful team,” Knox said. “We do what we need to do. We still need to work on finishing, getting on the post and scoring. We could have scored every more goals today. The new girls have seen what we’ve accomplished and they’ve been helpful getting the job done.”
The Rangers had a mindboggling 37-0 shots advantage, as freshman Savanna Harvey didn’t have to make a save. Greely took a dozen corners to just one for Cape Elizabeth.
The Capers’ star was unquestionably Pinette, who made 32 saves.
“Christiana did a great job keeping us in it,” said Bisogni.
“We were much more competitive in the second half. We have to figure out how to get off the bus and be effective. We were more effective when we went to the ball.”
More battles to come
The teams meet again Sept. 24 in Cape Elizabeth and each will be tested in the interim.
The Capers host Freeport Monday, visit Lake Region Wednesday, then welcome defending regional champion Yarmouth Saturday, Sept. 15.
“We’ll go back and work on some stuff,” said Bisogni. “It won’t get easier, but we’re excited to play at home.”
Greely is idle until Wednesday, when it goes to Yarmouth. The Rangers play at Poland Saturday, Sept. 15.
“I love my team,” said Perfetti. “We lost a lot of seniors. That was hard, but we’ve got new starters and everyone is working very hard. That shows our dedication to ourselves and our teammates. We want to make a statement this season.”
“We still have a lot of work to do,” Morley said. “Next week’s a big week. We’re enjoying where we are and we’ll keep moving forward. We’re feeling good.”
Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @foresports.
Greely sophomore Delia Knox, who scored the game’s first goal, gets past Cape Elizabeth junior goalie Christiana Pinette.
Greely sophomore Ella Wharton plays the ball.
Greely sophomore Hannah Perfetti and Cape Elizabeth junior Kaitlin Norrad battle for the ball.
Greely sophomore Delia Knox drives toward the goal.
Greely senior Wren Payne carries the ball up the field.
Cape Elizabeth junior Caroline Pellegrini drives the ball.
Greely junior Megan Beaulieu finishes for her team’s fifth goal.
Greely senior Courtney Rog is all smiles after scoring her team’s third goal.
Recent Greely-Cape Elizabeth results
2017
@ Cape Elizabeth 1 Greely 0 (2 OT)
@ Greely 1 Cape Elizabeth 0
2016
@ Cape Elizabeth 3 Greely 2
Cape Elizabeth 1 @ Greely 0
2015
Greely 3 @ Cape Elizabeth 0
2014
@ Cape Elizabeth 1 Greely 0
@ Greely 1 Cape Elizabeth 1 (tie)
2013
Cape Elizabeth 3 @ Greely 2 (OT)
@ Cape Elizabeth 2 Greely 0
2012
Cape Elizabeth 5 @ Greely 4
@ Cape Elizabeth 2 Greely 0
2011
Greely 4 @ Cape Elizabeth 1
@ Greely 2 Cape Elizabeth 0
2010
@ Cape Elizabeth 2 Greely 1
@ Greely 1 Cape Elizabeth 0
Western B quarterfinals
@ Greely 4 Cape Elizabeth 3
2009
@ Greely 1 Cape Elizabeth 0
Greely 1 @ Cape Elizabeth 0
2008
Greely 1 @ Cape Elizabeth 0 (OT)
@ Greely 2 Cape Elizabeth 0
2007
@ Cape Elizabeth 3 Greely 2
@ Greely 2 Cape Elizabeth 0
2006
Greely 2 @ Cape Elizabeth 1
@ Cape Elizabeth 0 Greely 0 (tie)
2005
@ Greely 4 Cape Elizabeth 0
Greely 4 @ Cape Elizabeth 0
Western B quarterfinals
@ Greely 3 Cape Elizabeth 0
2004
Greely 2 @ Cape Elizabeth 0
@ Greely 1 Cape Elizabeth 0
2003
@ Greely 6 Cape Elizabeth 2
Greely 3 @ Cape Elizabeth 2 (OT)
2002
Greely 3 @ Cape Elizabeth 1
Cape Elizabeth 3 @ Greely 2
Western B semifinals
@ Greely 6 Cape Elizabeth 0
2001
Cape Elizabeth 3 @ Greely 2
Greely 2 @ Cape Elizabeth 1
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