BRUNSWICK — Brunswick’s Isabella Banks knocked in a Lexi Guptill feed late in the second half to lift the Dragons to a 2-1 victory over Mt. Ararat in a girls high school soccer game.
Brunswick improved to 11-3 as Mt. Ararat finished the regular season at 9-4-1. The two Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference teams await the final Heal Point Standings as each team is expected to host a Class A North quarterfinal game next week.
“To be honest, I don’t think either team played a great game, possibly the worst game we’ve played this year,” Brunswick coach Martyn Davison said. “I told them afterwards sometimes you have to win ugly and that was an ugly win. At the end of the day we won the game and we’re all happy, we’ll take it.”
Mt. Ararat coach Chad Kirk talked about missed chances.
“We had opportunities, they had opportunities,” Kirk said. “It was a good game with a playoff atmosphere, it was fun. If you’re going to lose, at least try and give it all you have, and we did.”
The Dragons opened the season with a tightly contested 3-1 victory over the Eagles on Sept. 10 in Topsham, and Tuesday’s clash under the lights at Brunswick High School was no different.
Brunswick applied the pressure early, the tall frame and long extending arms of Mt. Ararat goalie Elsa Daulerio (four saves) kept the Dragons off the board early. Near the midway point, Brunswick’s Molly Taub almost scored after finding a loose ball at her feet in front of the goal, but Mt. Ararat’s Brennan Thiboutot cleared the ball, kicking it back up the field.
A few minutes later, the Eagles had their best opportunity to that point when Heather Gallant headed a ball deep into Brunswick territory where Ema Hawkes picked it up, getting a shot towards the net. Dragon goalie Aisley Snell made a diving save and made another moments later by coming out of the net to break up an Arianna Graybill attempt.
Soon after, Graybill got revenge, blasting a shot from 25-yards out that to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead with 17:23 on the clock.
Brunswick tied the game with 10 minutes remaining when Taub grabbed a loose ball that fell to Daulerio’s feet and knocked it in for the equalizer.
The score stood tied heading into the halftime break as the Dragons held advantages in both shots (5-2) and corner kicks (5-4).
Despite the tie score, Davison was still looking for more out of his team.
“We couldn’t connect any passes, struggled generating some offense and we were leaky in the back as they were getting through,” Davison said. “Give credit to Mt. Ararat for creating some of that, I thought they battled well with some good energy and they’re quick.”
Fifteen minutes into the second frame, the Eagles put a pair of shots on net, including a fierce attempt by Hawkes that forced Snell to come out of the net and stop her before carrying the ball any closer.
With neither team hitting the back of the net through the first 20 minutes of the half, the excitement built up on both sides as they tried to break the tie.
With less than 11 minutes left, Guptill took a free kick from just over midfield. The senior placed the ball at the top of the box, where Banks was open as she settled and tapped it past Daulerio, who had come out to stop the shot, for the go-ahead score.
“Lexi and I have this thing where we make eye contact if she’s throwing the ball in or kicking the ball along,” Banks said. “We made eye contact and she placed the ball up and over. Something my coaches have always told me is to anticipate the mistake and that’s what I did. I had to take the chance and go past the line and go after it. I was open and panicked a little telling myself to take my time and I did, and I was able to score.”
The Eagles were unable to muster any offensive opportunities, putting only three second-half shots on goal, where Snell made three of her four saves as the Dragons held on for the win.
“We made a couple of mistakes tonight — allowing the shot from a distance and not finding the mark on 10 (Banks), we let her walk right in, it happens. We had some opportunities, but we can work on the little things and get ready for the playoffs,” Kirk said. “We’re taking Wednesday off, it’s supposed to rain, so we’ll see where we land and go from there, we’re all right. Our mission is to come back here in a week and a half, that should be our mission.”
Thiboutot echoed Kirk’s words.
“Coach told us it’s pretty much moving forward from here. We have to start thinking about our next game and set a goal to come back here and want to take them on again,” said the senior. “I think we’re pretty excited because this is the first year we haven’t had to play a prelim game and it looks like we’re going to host one.”
Boys blank Eagles
Lane Foushee and David Nzuzi each scored first-half goals as keeper Jack McDiarmid the Dragons kept the Eagles off the board as Brunswick ended its regular season with a 2-0 win over Mt. Ararat.
The win improved Brunswick’s record to 12-1-1 and sits comfortably in the No. 2 position in the Class A North Heal Point Standings. Mt. Ararat dropped to 6-6-2 and in all likelihood will place fourth and host a quarterfinal game next week.
Foushee began the scoring with a header off an Alec Hess free kick with 9:07 left in the first half. Milan VanLeer found Nzuzi inside the box for the second tally with less than a minute left in the half.
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