Brunswick players surround Mia Klimash after she scored a goal in a Tuesday night game against Mt. Ararat in Topsham. Eli Canfield/The Times Record
TOPSHAM — Nothing has come easy for the Brunswick girls soccer team this season, and things weren’t any different on Tuesday evening in the season finale.
Mia Klimash scored on a free kick 11 minutes into the game and Kynli Van Leer added a second goal late in the second half as the Dragons blanked their biggest rival Mt. Ararat 2-0 to close out the regular season on a high note.
“It was a total team effort tonight,” said Klimash. “We’ve been striving to play like this all season, and I think it’s really paying off now.”
With the postseason on the horizon, Brunswick coach Martyn Davison said his team is playing some of its best soccer of the season.
Morgan Ruff of Mt. Ararat winds up to kick a cross during Tuesday’s girls soccer game against Brunswick in Topsham. Eli Canfield/The Times Record
“I thought we were great, we played a very complete game tonight (Tuesday),” said Davison, whose team finishes 12-2-0.
The Brunswick defense shined once again, allowing just eight shots on target and forcing scoring chances to come few and far between.
“I thought they were phenomenal back there,” added Davison. “We’ve been trying new things with three in back, and I thought they were immaculate, all three of them.”
Brunswick went with Madeleine Chaput, Morgan Foster and Ella Gustafson in the back ahead of first-year goalie Sophia Morin, who finished with eight saves.
“They’ve really come together as a unit back there,” said Klimash. “We know how important that could be in the postseason. Defense is always important.”
Mt. Ararat, which had just a handful of real scoring opportunities throughout the game, finishes the regular season 7-4-3.
“We had some chances in both halves,” said Mt. Ararat coach Chad Kirk. “Our problem all season has been finishing on the net, it showed tonight.”
The Eagles’ best scoring opportunity came when freshman Islah Godo made a series of moves around Brunswick defenders creating a one-on-one opportunity with her and the goalie but her shot went straight into the chest of Morin.
“We gave them too much space at times. I thought our defense was pretty good overall though,” added Kirk, who was without his starting goalie Elsa Daulerio who’s been out with a head injury. “Maddie (Kinney) was great back there for us, she kept us in it.”
Emily Davison of Brunswick attempts to dribble the ball past a Mt. Ararat defender during Tuesday’s game at Mt. Ararat High School in Topsham. Eli Canfield/The Times Record
Kinney was stout in relief of Daulerio and finished the game with 21 saves.
Brunswick struck when Klimash was fouled just outside the box. She picked her spot and walloped a shot into the top right corner past the outstretched arms of Kinney.
“Nothing she (Kinney) could’ve done with that one,” said Kirk, referring to the shot.
Brunswick doubled its lead with just under 20 minutes remaining in the second half. After a misfired clearance, the ball found Brunswick’s Logan Brown who delivered a perfect cross to Van Leer who tapped it home.
With the Dragons’ defense playing at a high level and the offense keeping pace, Davison is very happy with where his team stands heading into the Class A North postseason tournament.
“We’re hitting our stride at the perfect time,” he said. “It’s a great thing, we want to keep this going as long as we can.”
For the Eagles, offensive production will be the main focus as they head into the postseason.
“If we can find some offense, I think we can make some noise,” said Kirk. “We found that high energy and continuity tonight, now we need to translate that to the next game.”
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