FALMOUTH — The Falmouth field hockey team completed a sweep of its two-game season series with Greely with another shutout Monday night.
Ellie Fitzgerald scored both goals to lead the Yachtsmen to a 2-0 win against the Rangers in a Western Maine Conference game.
The victory kept Falmouth (9-4) in the race with idle Thornton Academy for the fourth spot in the Western Class A Heal point standings.
The loss prevented Greely (4-8-1) from moving past Lake Region into the ninth spot in Western Class B. The top nine teams in the region qualify for postseason play.
“We went in knowing it was going to be a tough game despite the records, and we were able to keep the pressure on them,” Falmouth Coach Robin Haley said.
Fitzgerald opened the scoring six minutes into the game when she put in a shot from within 5 yards of the goal after winning a battle for control of the ball following the first penalty corner of the night.
“Their (defensive) flyer is incredibly fast, so I just pulled around her and pushed it and it went in,” said Fitzgerald, who scored a first-half goal to lead the Yachtsmen to a 1-0 win against the Rangers in a game played Sept. 9 in Cumberland.
Greely’s freshman goalkeeper Elizabeth Brown did all she could to keep the Yachtsmen off the scoreboard for the rest of the first half.
“For a young goalie, she’s really stepped up and shown some big improvement through the season,” Greely Coach Cindy Belmore said.
During the first half, Brown stopped five shots, including back-to-back saves on two quick shots by Ruth Smith 12 minutes into the game. With eight minutes left, she kicked a shot by Morgan Allen away from the goal. With four minutes left, Brown stopped a close-in shot by Fitzgerald.
Falmouth played 10 minutes of the first half without Kate Lannon, a senior midfielder who received a yellow card 13 minutes into the game for a push. Despite being one player short, the Yachtsmen continued to apply pressure.
“We were able to maintain (control),” Haley said.
“I was really proud of the girls and the way they played tonight.”
Play during the second half was much closer, as the Rangers managed to make forays into Falmouth’s end of the field.
“I just reminded them (at halftime) of the things we’ve been working on all season – possession of the ball, transferring, getting on the right side (of the ball),” Belmore said. “(It’s the) same thing that every team works on.”
With less than seven minutes to go, Fitzgerald struck again, converting a pass from Sydney Bell into a goal during a two-on-one break.
Falmouth goalkeeper Caroline Dyhlberg had to make just one save to record her fourth shutout of the season. With 5:50 left, she kicked a shot from Hogan Reed away from the goal.
Brown wound up making seven saves.
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