SOUTH CHINA — Clang, thud, thump.
The Erskine girls soccer team peppered the crossbar early and often in its Eastern B prelim game Saturday morning against Maine Central Institute, hitting it three times to accompany a shot off a post.
“We just had to keep working,” Erskine coach Ryan Nored said. “We were attacking. We were controlling the game and had our opportunities. We just needed to finish.”
No. 6 Erskine finally did finish, beginning when Christina Belanger scored with 5 minutes, 51 seconds left in the first half. Avery Bond and Emma McCormac would later find the back of the net to help the Eagles (8-3-4) waltz into the regional quarterfinals with a 3-0 victory over the tough-but-overmatched Huskies (4-9-2).
Erskine will next play at No. 3 Hermon (13-1-0) in a quarterfinal game Wednesday.
“We played with a lot of confidence,” said Belanger, a senior striker. “We passed the ball really well and attacked. It’s an awesome feeling.”
Added Bond, a senior midfielder who scored just 42 seconds into the second half to give Erskine a 2-0 lead: “I feel like we dominated. We didn’t let up.”
No, the Eagles didn’t.
They took control of the game from the start and didn’t let up until the final seconds clicked away on the scoreboard.
After hitting the crossbar and post a combined four times in the opening 20 minutes, Erskine finally broke through when Belanger took a terrific pass from Marissa Chamberlain and buried a left-footed shot past MCI keeper Gabi Pyles from about 10 yards out.
Chamberlain was about 10 yards past midfield when she lifted a well-place pass past two defenders to an awaiting Belanger, who knew what to do with the ball when it came to her cleats.
“She passed it up to me and I wanted to keep the ball on the ground,” Belanger said. “It felt good when it left my foot. It was an awesome feeling to get us the lead.”
The Eagles carried the 1-0 lead into the second half before Bond made it 2-0 early in the second half.
“I beat a couple of defenders and dished it off to Lauren (Wood) on a give-and-go. When I got it back, I just put it into the corner.”
McCormac padded the lead with 26:18 left in regulation when she ripped a shot past Pyles after the Eagles pressured to keep the ball in the box.
“I went to the bottom right corner,” McCormac said.
Added Nored, who constantly subbed to keep his team fresh: “We did what we wanted to do. We controlled the ground game and were able to execute what we practice every day. It felt good.”
Pyles finished with 14 saves for MCI while Cassie Ray had 11 for Erskine.
“They seemed to be sharper than us,” MCI coach Carl Jones said. “They were a step quicker and it showed. Overall, it was a really good season. We were in every game.”
Bill Stewart — 621-5618
Twitter: @billstewartmtm
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