Cony girls build on close loss

BY GARY HAWKINS

Staff Writer

It's not often a team can draw encouragement from a loss, but that was the case following Brunswick's 1-0 defeat of Cony last Friday.

The unbeaten Dragons beat Cony 8-3 in Augusta earlier this season, but had all they could handle on their home field Friday night.

"We controlled the majority of the second half to be honest," Cony coach Jeremy Greenleaf said. "It was a very physical game on both sides. The girls played with a tremendous amount of heart and effort."

Brunswick's Ali Walton scored the lone goal on a direct kick outside the 18 yard line when she squeezed a shot inside the near post past Cony keeper Amy Jones.

"It was just kicked so well and hard," Greenleaf said. "She's one of the better players in our league."

Jones finished with 10 saves, including a diving stop off Walton, while Brunswick's Mazie Degosh made nine. Greenleaf said sweeper Olivia Boivin and midfielder Mackenzie Dufour played well, as did forwards Cassie Diplock and Tori Fowler.

"It was a great game, probably the best game we've played this year," Greenleaf said.

The Rams are 7-3-2 following Tuesday's win against Lewiston. They face another big test Friday when they host Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class A power Mt. Ararat.

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It's been a banner year so far for Oak Hill soccer. Both girls and boys teams defeated Gardiner on Monday and are 6-3-1.

"The kids here when I first started coaching are now seniors," said third-year girls coach Cheryl Lambert. "And we have some really good young talent."

The Raiders' success starts with goaltending and defense. Sophomore Maggie Sabine and senior Alex Donald split time in goal with Sabine, who has scored five goals, usually playing the field in the first half.

"I have two of the top keepers in the conference so I can switch them out," Lambert said.

Lambert has a group of seniors playing defense, although one of them -- sweeper Kadie Rodrigue -- was injured in the third game and is out for the season. Sophomore Hannah Langlois has taken her place. She's surrounded by Courtney Stafford, Becca Roberts, Sam Wark and Casey Anctil, all seniors.

Sophomore Becca Belaire leads the team in scoring with nine goals while Roberts has chipped in with five.

The Raiders have a key game today against Erskine and Friday with Medomak Valley.

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The ups and downs of KVAC Class B soccer were evident Monday in South China. The Maranacook girls, coming off a 2-1 win against previously unbeaten Winslow, lost 5-2 to host Erskine Academy.

"Huge," Erskine coach Ryan Nored said of the win. "We needed this."

Nored's Eagles lost 1-0 to Maranacook (6-3-0) earlier this season and are 5-4-2 going into today's game at Oak Hill.

Nored has made some positional changes recently and they are beginning to pay off. He put senior Amanda Tower and freshman Michelle Beckwith at center midfield.

"They've been playing like they've been together four years," he said.

The Erskine coach also pumped a little life into the offense by moving midfielder Brittney Doughty to the front line. Doughty scored on a penalty kick Monday while senior Callie Thompson scored three goals and junior Nicole Bernhardt had one.

"(Monday) we had hustle goals," Nored said. "Thompson and Bernhardt beat players to the ball."

• • •

The Kents Hill girls soccer team plays a key conference game today at Gould Academy. The Huskies are 1-1-0 in MAISAD (Maine Association of Independent Schools Athletic Directors) play and 2-2-1 overall while Gould is 3-0-0 in the league.

They have a common non-conference opponent in New Hampton School, a team Kents Hill has beaten and tied and Gould has lost to.

"I think if we can win the rest of our games, there's a good chance we can qualify for the New Englands," Kents Hill coach Steve Bell said.

The Huskies feature a strong defense and more offense than they've had in the recent past. Bianca Bogda, a first-year senior from Rhode Island, has three goals and three assists while Shailie Dumont of Greene has two goals and two assists.

The defense is also coming together, Bell said, led by Lewiston's Maryke Moreau, now in her fourth season in goal. Junior Laura Lydon and sophomore Thaney Cockrell, both from Readfield, also play in the back along with Elise McInerney and Sam Kiesel, both from Massachusetts.

Chelsea Carrier, a fifth-year senior from Winslow, and junior Natalie Tortorella of Farmingdale are both playing well at midfield, Bell said, along with Canadian Amanda Burns.

Bell said he was originally opposed to the team's new turf field because "I'm a traditional soccer player and you're not allowed to play on turf anywhere but the United States."

But he's come around.

"We've won every game we've played on it," he said. "It's really nice. It's pretty soft and it's not that fast. It makes for really good soccer."

Gary Hawkins -- 621-5638

ghawkins@centralmaine.com