WATERVILLE — It might have been “bittersweet” for Madeline Wood on Monday night, but she left nothing but a positive impact on the game.
On a senior night celebrated at Thomas College, Wood, the Madison girls soccer team’s lone senior, scored two goals and assisted on a third as the Bulldogs posted their 10th straight win with a 3-1 Mountain Valley Conference decision over Lisbon.
In the matchup between the No. 2 and No. 3 teams in the current Class C South Heal point standings, Wood was the difference.
“I was pretty excited for it,” Wood said of senior night. “It’s kind of bittersweet, because it means it’s my last home game. I’m glad we came out with the win.”
Wood helped break a 1-1 tie in the 52nd minute, setting up Emily Edgerly’s goal. Ashley Emery’s corner kick from the right side found Wood’s head in the 18-yard box, where Wood flicked it far post for Edgerly to finish off.
Thirteen minutes later, Wood put the game away for Madison (10-1-0) with her second goal of the game, capping a magnificent run to the near post by getting into traffic and putting her foot on Shelby Belanger’s driven cross from the left side.
The two late goals were a nice response from the Bulldogs, who’d surrendered just the fifth goal against them all season in the 47th minute. That put Madison in the unfamiliar position of having to respond to a push from the opposition.
After being outplayed and significantly outshot by Madison in the first half, Lisbon (6-2-2) tied the game courtesy of a long, bending shot off the foot of Jasmin Le taken outside the box early in the second half.
“We quite frankly didn’t know what to expect,” said Madison co-head coach Mike Walsh, whose team has only given up two goals in its last 10 games and not had a team erase a lead against the Bulldogs during the run. “This was helpful for us to see that we responded and picked it up.”
“I told our girls that we were going to play a more skilled team than we are,” Lisbon coach Brian Dube said. “If we could just hustle through it, we could be OK. But I’m happy — I know some of our girls are disappointed — but I’m happy with the way we played.”
The first half was a different contest. The Bulldogs outshot the Greyhounds by a 14-1 margin over the course of the first 40 minutes, saved only by the strong efforts of goalkeeper Ali Sult and her 13 saves in the half.
Wood netted the only goal of the first half. She was left unmarked in the area and received a cross from Sydney LeBlanc, which she pulled back onto her right foot to draw Sult off her line before beating her cleanly along the turf.
Madison now heads into a key MVC showdown with Monmouth on Thursday. The Mustangs are a perfect 10-0-0 on the season, having handed the Bulldogs their only loss of the season on opening day in early September.
Wood admitted that it has been tough at times not to overlook certain teams on the schedule in anticipation of looming showdowns with the conference’s iron.
“We’ve been keeping our eyes straight on the prize,” Wood said. “It’s hard not to overlook some of the teams in our conference, but we just try to come in prepared and play our best game every time out.”
“We talked to the girls about getting through this game, about this being a game that can get us ready for Monmouth,” Walsh added. “I think we accomplished that.”
Travis Barrett — 621-5621
tbarrett@centralmaine.com
Twitter: @TBarrettGWC
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