The Cheverus girls’ soccer team entered Wednesday afternoon’s game against Noble on an offensive tear, with 15 goals over its last two games.
The Stags didn’t maintain that blistering pace against the Knights, but they scored just enough to take a 3-0 win.
Cheverus is now 9-3-1 and will close the regular season Friday at Windham. Noble, now 5-6-1, finishes the regular season with games against Marshwood and Bonny Eagle.
Cheverus Coach Craig Roberts didn’t think his team played its best and was thankful that his team was still able to pick up another win.
“I thought we came out strong, and then I thought we let our foot off the gas a little bit. Our speed of play was not fast enough. It was almost like one goal was enough, and it’s so dangerous to play like that,” Roberts said. “I also told the girls, those are games that sometimes end up 1-1 or 2-2, or you lose. It wasn’t always pretty.”
The Stags controlled play throughout most of the first half, keeping pressure on the Knights’ defense. Cheverus broke through with 13:04 left in the half when Annie Vigue took a pass from Sophia Monfa and fired a shot into the lower left corner of the net.
The goal was an example of how Vigue has worked on her game, Roberts said.
“She’s taken a step this year in terms of her leadership, and she’s changing her game. A big step in that regard is her willingness to use her right foot,” Roberts said. “I’m not giving away any trade secrets. Teams know she’s left-footed. That goal today, she struck that right-footed.”
Vigue said she tried to hang back a little to collect Monfa’s pass, noticing it was curving out a bit. Movement through the midfield into the offensive zone had been a key to the recent scoring outburst, Vigue said.
“We’ve gotten a lot better at passing and moving,” she said.
Vigue scored her second goal with 27:20 remaining. Monfa’s shot rebounded off the right post directly to Vigue, who tapped the ball into a wide-open net.
The Stags added a final goal with 2.7 seconds to play when a Monfa shot dribbled in.
After playing on its heels throughout the first half, Noble did a better job controlling play in the second, particularly early when the Knights were looking for a tying goal. With just under 35 minutes to play, Noble’s Lauren Jordan had a free kick from 25 yards to the right of the net, but it went just outside the left post.
Later, with Noble trailing 2-0, Reagan Dodge’s shot from 25 yards was deflected high and out of bounds by Cheverus keeper Evelyn Rush.
“Just a little more drive,” Noble Coach Tatyana Wolterbeek said of her team’s second-half attack. “We were trying to at least get the tie at that time. Putting the ball in the net has been our Achilles’ heel at times. We get quite a few goals in one day, then one day we give it up.”
Rush made two saves for the Stags. Chloe Comtois had three stops for Noble.
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