A lot has happened in the month that has passed since the Cape Elizabeth girls soccer team lost its opener to Falmouth by four goals. Players have returned from injuries and the Capers have learned they’re actually a pretty good team.
Heading into Monday’s rematch with the Yachtsmen, the Capers had won four straight (after dropping five in a row to start the season). So, it wasn’t much of a surprise that they weren’t jumping for joy after tying Falmouth, 1-1 – even if they had just given the Yachtsmen the first blemish on their otherwise perfect record.
“I thought we did enough to win,” said Cape coach Dean Brookes. (Falmouth) came back in the second half, but we had enough chances to win the game. It bodes well for us in the postseason because Falmouth hasn’t lost yet, but we should’ve won today.”
The Capers carried play in the first half, but didn’t get on the board until there was 1:25 left. Junior halfback Natasha Barritt popped home a loose ball from 20 yards out after a scramble in front.
Unfortunately, the Capers didn’t have much time to build on the goal before the halftime horn sounded. So, the Yachtsmen, not used to playing from behind, had time to regroup during the break.
“They came out real sloppy in the first half, didn’t control it, didn’t play the ball up to feet, had a little bit of a mismatch in terms of the backs,” said Falmouth coach Deb LeBel. “I made a couple switches, but they didn’t adjust real well. Once I finally sat them down and said, ‘Hey, this is what we’re doing’ they did a lot better.”
The Yachstmen went full speed ahead when the second half began and, as a result, they evened things up four minutes in. Senior forward Ashley Dragos played a corner kick into the box from the left corner, and when the ball slipped through goalie Marla Houghton’s hands at the near post Carly Applebaum was there to pounce on the rebound.
“In the second half, after that goal for about 10, 15 minutes they got a grip on the game,” said Brookes. “It’s more of a lesson in that when we get to playoffs it just takes one mistake, one silly mistake to cost you a game or to change a game. At 1-0, we were looking to make them break and score more goals, but when it was 1-1 that changed the flow of the game a little bit.”
Falmouth’s Lindsay Lanouette and Hannah Jansen both had scoring chances midway through the half, but Houghton atoned for her miscue on the tying goal by thwarting both chances. She charged out of her box and challenged the shooters.
Eventually, the Capers settled down and generated some scoring chances of their own – senior captain Dana Riker nearly beat Falmouth goalie Rachel Bennett to a through ball with eight minutes left – but neither team would get on the board again before the horn sounded. And the scoring chances didn’t come in either of the two overtime periods.
So, the Capers avenged their early-season 4-0 loss with a tie instead of a win. What was the difference between the two games?
“I think we were just overall more prepared today,” said Riker. “The first game we were just a little disorganized. It was our opener and I’m not sure we were mentally prepared either. This time we knew what we could bring and we were just more excited to play.”
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