FREEPORT — Cat Gould registered three goals, including a pair in the second half, as Freeport pulled away for a 5-2 victory over Gray-New Gloucester in a Western Maine Conference girls’ soccer season opener Thursday.
It was the first regular-season soccer game at the Joan Benoit Samuelson Track and Field complex.
“There was a lot of excitement tonight, it was great to be out here,” Freeport Coach Dave Intraversato said.
GNG tied it just a few minutes later on a goal by Alexa Thayer.
“Alexa is one of those special dynamic players, when she has the opportunity to go at a player, she has the ability to do just that,” GNG Coach Kiaran McCormack said. “She can create something out of nothing, she’s incredible to work with, she’s always willing to work.”
With 18 minutes left in the half, Hannah Spaulding was taken down as she drove to the net and was awarded a penalty kick, which she drilled into the goal.
“We play a lot faster,” Gould said of playing on the turf. “We’ve worked a lot on fitness lately, so we’ve managed to play all throughout the field with a good pace.”
Gray-New Gloucester had a couple good chance to pull even early in the second half. Laurel Thomas stole a Freeport pass and moved the ball down field for a shot on goal, but Carly Intraversato came up with the save.
“The defense played amazing,” Gould said. “We played out of the back very well and we tried switching the field when we could.”
Midway through the second half, Spaulding delivered a well-placed pass in the middle of the field to Gould, who pushed it into the goal for a 3-1 lead.
“They have a couple of dangerous players we didn’t deal with,” McCormack said.
Gould got her third goal with less than 15 minutes remaining.
“There was a lot of excitement coming out here at the beautiful facility,” McCormack said. “There’s been a lot of back and forth between us, so we’ve sort of built a rivalry. There was a lot of emotion in this game, and at times that got bigger than the quality of soccer.”
Bri Jordan scored to cut the deficit to 4-2, but Tara Migliaccio answered with a shot that went in off the post.
Intraversato finished with seven saves, while GNG keeper Chelsea Davis turned away five shots.
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