FALMOUTH—Falmouth senior goalkeeper Jordan Wolf has been otherworldly so far this season, but even Wolf was no match for the juggernaut that is the Windham girls’ soccer team.
Tuesday evening, the visiting Eagles showed everyone what all the fuss was about as they continued their undefeated run with an impressive victory.
After Wolf stymied some early chances, Windham scored the only goal it would need in the 15th minute, when junior Abbey Thornton banged home a rebound for a 1-0 lead, which would hold into the second half.
There, Thornton scored for the second time, with 25:30 to go, to double the lead and for good measure, Thornton set up freshman Caitlyn Marsh with 2:15 to play and the Eagles went on to a 3-0 victory.
Windham improved to 8-0 on the season and in the process, handed the Navigators their first setback, as they fell to 6-1-1.
“They were better than us tonight,” said Falmouth coach Andrew Pelletier. “In my opinion, they’re the best team. All-around, they have it all.”
Facing the best
Consensus holds that Windham is the gold standard in Class A and the Eagles have certainly lived up to billing so far this fall, beating their first seven foes by a composite 37-2 margin.
The Navigators had been nearly as good, opening with a 4-0 win at Sanford, blanking visiting Massabesic (8-0) and after settling for a scoreless home tie versus Gorham, shutting out host Kennebunk (3-0) and visiting Bonny Eagle (3-0) before downing host Cheverus (2-1) and host Deering (4-1).
The teams didn’t play a year ago.
The last countable meeting ended in a 2-2 tie two years ago.
Tuesday, Falmouth had its chances and hung tough, but ultimately couldn’t keep up with the Eagles.
Early on, Windham senior Sarah Talon tried to thread a ball to junior Ashley Clark, but Wolf got to it first, Thornton sent a free kick from the top of the box just over the crossbar and Wolf punched away an Eagles’ corner kick.
Then, in the ninth minute, Wolf put on a show, robbing Talon, robbing Thornton on the rebound, then stopping Talon on a subsequent rebound attempt to keep the contest scoreless.
“Jordan stood on her head for bit,” Pelletier said. “We’re lucky to have her. She’s the best keeper in the state. She makes saves nobody else can.”
Falmouth then bid for the lead, but a rush from junior Elise Gearan resulted in a shot that was saved by Windham senior keeper Eliza Trafford and a promising Gearan cross in front was cleared by freshman Kyla Harvie.
The Eagles then took the lead with 25:43 remaining in the first half, as Talon had a shot saved, but Thornton was there to convert the rebound.
Wolf then kept her team close with a gorgeous kick save by the near post off a shot from Talon, then denied Talon again before Harvie sent a ball just wide.
The Navigators hoped to pull even, but sophomore Peaches Stucker and junior Abbie Ford both had shots saved by Trafford keeping the score 1-0 at the break.
Windham had a 9-4 edge in first half shots, but eight saves by Wolf kept things interesting.
Five minutes into the second half, Clark hit the post and a rebound was sent just wide.
With 29 minutes to go, Thornton almost made it 2-0 with a blast, but Wolf leapt and tipped the ball out.
Two minutes later, Falmouth had a chance to tie it on a corner kick, but the ball was cleared.
Then, with 25:30 to play, the Eagles got their second goal, as junior Elizabeth Levesque crossed the ball to Thornton, who beat Wolf.
After Wolf dove to rob junior Elizabeth Talbot, the Navigators tried to get back in it, but after taking a cross from Gearan, Ford was denied and after taking a pass from Gearan, junior Audrey Murray was stymied by Trafford.
Windham delivered the coup de grace with 2:15 to play, as Thornton got the ball to Marsh, who beat Wolf with her left foot and that closed out the 3-0 victory.
“It was a big test and I’m happy we passed,” said Eagles coach Deb LeBel. “It was a really good team effort. We were a little shaky in the first half. We executed much better in the second half. We found holes in the back and kept the ball away from their keeper. She’s by far the best keeper we’ve seen. We’d worked as a team on keeping the ball on the ground. When we did that and made better passes to feet, we were able to put the ball in.”
Windham finished with a 15-6 shots advantage, got six saves from Trafford and took four corner kicks.
Falmouth also had four corner kicks and got a dozen saves from Wolf, but tasted defeat for the first time all season.
“We created some really good chances, but (Windham’s) keeper played great,” Pelletier said. “(Freshman back Emily Talbot) was very good. I was actually pleased with how we played. I’ve got some really great leaders and a lot of girls that this is a weird feeling for them because they hadn’t lost yet. ”
Bounce back game
Windham will seek to keep its good times rolling Thursday at Gorham in another key test.
“I like what we’re doing,” said LeBel. “This gives us some hope that we are talented. We have another really tough game Thursday at Gorham. That’s another huge test. We have to work harder in practice. We have to take things from this game and build on it every game.”
Falmouth hopes to get back in the win column Thursday at Biddeford. Next week brings a trip to Thornton Academy and a home game versus Westbrook. A key home test versus undefeated Scarborough looms Oct. 11.
“We have to bounce back,” Pelleier said. “We haven’t faced adversity yet. This will be good for us. We’ve got a really tough schedule, so understanding what defeat feels like hopefully will help us. It’s a growing opportunity for us. We’re a young team. We didn’t expect to be 6-1-1 at this point. I couldn’t be more proud of where we’re at and we just have to get better.”
Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @foresports.
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