BRUNSWICK — Freshman Maeve Arthur made a memorable debut with the Brunswick girls’ soccer team Thursday afternoon.
Arthur scored her first varsity goal on a sensational shot with less than six minutes left in the first half to spark the Dragons to a 2-1 win against Eastern Class A rival Mt. Ararat.
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Arthur launched a drive from outside the left side of the penalty area that went in off the fingertips of leaping Mt. Ararat goalie Lauren Williams.
“I was just kind of dribbling away from people and when it went in I was kind of surprised,” Arthur said.
Arthur, who was unable to play Tuesday afternoon when Brunswick suffered a season-opening 2-0 loss on the road to Hampden Academy, was a constant source of irritation for the Eagles.
“With her speed, we knew we could play a counterattack,” Brunswick Coach Martyn Davidson said. “In the second half, we sat in to protect the lead, but we knew with her speed we still could get some scoring opportunities.
“She played a phenomenal game. She’s really a good little player.”
It was the first loss after two wins for the Eagles, who brought back nearly every player from a squad that advanced to the regional final last fall.
“They outhustled us,” Mt. Ararat Coach Sam Chard said. “They deserved to win. They played harder than we did. We couldn’t finish, and they did. They’re a good team. They hustle and they play every ball long.”
The Eagles held a 21-11 edge in shots and a 7-1 edge in corners, but Brunswick’s sophomore goalie Madelyn Brescia had to make just four saves to post her first varsity victory.
The Dragons increased their lead 15 minutes into the second half when Alicia Davis, a senior midfielder, received Julia Champagne’s centering pass from the right side and curled a shot into goal from about 15 yards out while using a defender as a screen.
“I was just going for the goal and hoping it went in, and it turned out well,” Davis said.
With less than six minutes left, Mt. Ararat’s Libby Ouellette put in a close-range shot from the left side to complete the scoring.
“It took us 70 minutes,” Chard said. “You can’t play 10 minutes of soccer.”
“It’s a great win for us, and we needed that,” Davidson said. “They’re a talented team.”
The players on the Brunswick squad seemed to be on the same page from the outset.
“Everyone was just working together, passing and talking to each other,” Davis said. “We started playing hard at the beginning of the game, and we just kept on playing hard.”
Chard hoped his team got something positive from the game.
“I hope (my players) understand that everything is going to be a battle and not to take anything for granted,” he said. “I think some of them feel it’s going to be easy again, and it’s not. You’ve got to work for every single ball, and you’ve got to work for every single game. Hopefully, they realize that.”
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