LEWISTON – Happy endings at the Brunswick High School girls’ soccer team’s expense will be measured primarily in moral victories this fall, so it’s worth noting that Lewiston scored first Thursday evening at Don Roux Field.
But Brunswick scored often, or at least in bunches, to remain undefeated in the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference with a 4-1 victory.
Junior midfielder Molly Elder chalked up two goals off the bench. Megan Clement and Aimee Tetu also tallied for the defending Class A champion Dragons (7-0).
“They’re the team to beat in the KVAC, and probably the state,” said Lewiston coach Rick Meyers. “I’ve watched a lot of girls’ soccer around the state, and I don’t think any of us have solved them yet.”
Brunswick is tough enough any autumn, its roster stocked with players who seemingly climb from their cribs one-touching pinpoint passes to the far post. Then consider that the Dragons were essentially a year ahead of schedule in winning the Gold Ball last season, graduating few players of consequence.
Eight seniors and 13 juniors blanket the Brunswick roster, and that depth and skill eventually wore down the Blue Devils as the Dragons (7-0) backed up their triumph over Lewiston in last October’s Eastern Class A final.
“They keep coming at you and put so much pressure on you, and eventually they finish,” Meyers said. “I’m impressed that our girls didn’t let up.”
Kelsey Rodrigue landed Lewiston (5-2) a quick, early advantage, converting the Blue Devils’ first bid at Brunswick goalkeeper Lindsay Hammond in the third minute. Allison Morin intercepted the ball in the Brunswick zone and crossed the ball from left to right, where Rodrigue launched it to the lower right corner of the cage.
Lewiston frustrated Brunswick early in the game with its hard-nosed approach. Shortly after scoring the equalizer on a terrific solo surge through traffic at 12:10, Megan Clement went down from a clean but hard collision near midfield.
Clement was transported by ambulance to St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center for precautionary reasons due to a possible neck strain. She returned to the field by the conclusion of the game.
Another starter, Meghan Morrell, left the game with a knee injury.
“This was our first tough game,” said Brunswick coach Martyn Davison. “It was very physical, which is not usually our style, and that’s why I was a little frustrated. But we were down one-nil and we were able to turn it around.”
Lewiston dug deep into the bag of tricks, employing all-time leading scorer Laura Martel as a sweeper. By the time Elder converted a feed from Lucy Morrell to give Brunswick the lead in the 23rd minute, the Dragons seemed to adjust. The Dragons controlled play from start to finish in the second half, allowing only two shots against Hammond while peppering Lewiston’s freshman keeper, Katie Cobb, with a baker’s dozen. Cobb finished with 11 saves.
Tetu scored with 11 minutes left and Elder backed it up just over two minutes later.
Both goals came with Martel on the bench as Meyers elected to hold her out with a suspected sore knee.
“She plays a lot of soccer all year long, so she might need a little rest,” Meyers said of his all-state forward. “I was trying to use her in a little different role tonight. I guess it worked for a while.”
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