NORTH ANSON — Hall-Dale executed what it worked on in practice leading up to Saturday’s Mountain Valley Conference soccer match with Carrabec, and the Bulldogs got the result they were looking for.
Thea Sweet and Lilly Ly each scored and the Bulldogs played suffocating team defense in front of goalie Olivia Maynard in a 2-0 victory.
“The girls played exactly the style of soccer that we train for,” Hall-Dale coach Guy Cousins said. “We had great pressure on the ball, great rotation. And when we gave up shots, Olivia was very strong in net, an immovable object.”
Maynard made five saves as the Bulldogs (2-1) out-shot the Cobras, 20-7.
“Before the game, we thought about what we really had to work on and we thought about that last practice and we just really applied it,” senior midfielder Emily Markham said. “We worked on our rotation and getting back on defense, and we did that well this game.”
Facing a defense led by Markham, Clio Barr, Dani Sweet and Marissa Smith, the Cobras (1-2) had little success maintaining any pressure in the Bulldogs’ end, particularly in the second half, when they were out-shot, 14-3.
“The first job is to contain the offensive attack and help our teammates get behind the ball,” Cousins said. “We get good pressure and containment on the ball and we rotate if we get beat. We defend as a team. We attack as a team.”
“It was good composure on our part, too,” he added. “We weren’t just wailing balls. We looked to connect and start the attack.”
An efficient transition led to Hall-Dale’s first goal, which Barr set up with a through ball to Sweet, who beat Stephanie Cossaboom (13 saves) to the goalkeeper’s right midway through the first half.
“I think this is the fastest team we’ve had,” Sweet said. “And we’ve been working a lot on our fitness throughout the season, and we’re still working on it. We played really smart, too, and that really gave us an advantage.”
Carrabec was able to neutralize Hall-Dale’s speed somewhat in its own end with pure hustle, such as when Liberty Chestnut chased Ly down from behind to interrupt a breakaway that could have made it 2-0 moments after Sweet’s goal.
“We did our marking pretty well. There’s a lot of motion with their team, a lot of through runs, and it’s hard to really follow that,” Carrabec coach Silas Bell said. “Our fullback line was phenomenal to be able to play against them. Our keeper came out today. She had a great game and made some key saves when she could.”
An aggressive Maynard spoiled Carrabec’s best scoring opportunity late in the half, rushing out of the net to challenge Paige Chadbourne after she received nice pass from Jerzee Rugh and forced Chadbourne’s shot high over the crossbar.
Ly added the insurance goal on a penalty kick after she was pushed down in the top corner of the penalty area. The kick flew just under the crossbar to double the lead nine minutes into the second half.
Randy Whitehouse — 621-5638
rwhitehouse@centralmaine.com
Twitter: @RAWmaterial33
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