HALLOWELL — Whether it is the most pristine of accurate passes or a volley of aimless deflections, the soccer ball seems to always find Natalie Bolduc.

Or maybe it is just the other way around.

The junior sniper for Dirigo was in the right place at the right time twice for the Cougars on Monday in a 2-1 win over Hall-Dale.

Bolduc scored her 16th of the season with 9:12 remaining in regulation to lift the Cougars (7-0-1) to a significant victory over the Bulldogs (5-4).

“We knew Hall-Dale wasn’t going to be easy,” said Bolduc, who also has six assists this season. “We had to play our hardest. We just had to rally together and not let up.”

The game-winner went through three different Cougars before the ball found Bolduc all alone by the left post.

Bolduc, an all-state player last year, helped create the opportunity with a rush from the midfield down the right sideline. She drew a throw that went into the right corner. Paige Murphy crossed that toward the net, where Lindsy Crutchfield and Addy Fuller got a touch on it.

“Paige had a nice cross,” said Bolduc. “Lindsy and Addy volleyed it and then I just got there and put it in. I kicked it in at the last second before (the keeper) got to it.”

Bolduc was only six yards away and had to beat a charging Olivia Maynard. The goalie got a piece of the ball but couldn’t save it.

“I was just trying to be there,” said Bolduc. “You never know how they can volley it. I’ve got to be ready all the time.”

The Cougars had to regroup after Hall-Dale produced a strong second half and tied the game on a penalty kick by Carylanne Wolfington with 28:02 left in regulation. It was just the second goal allowed by Dirigo all season.

“We moved the ball better in the first half,” said Dirigo coach Art Chamberlin. “We’ve been doing better and better with that as the season’s gone on. For whatever reason, whether they put more pressure on us or we didn’t get good touches, when we stopped moving the ball, they got some energy.”

From the beginning of the second half, the Bulldogs were more aggressive and took it to Dirigo. A rush by Kristina Buck set up a Wolfington bid on the first possession just seconds into the half.

The Bulldogs outshot Dirigo 9-6 in the second half and won most of the balls and had the Cougars out of sync. A foul in the penalty area led to the penalty kick. Wolfington fired a low shot to the left that beat a diving Natasha Deroche, who was outstanding for Dirigo with nine saves.

“We knew they were going to be tough in the second half,” said Bolduc. “We knew we couldn’t let up. Once they got that first goal, we had to push even harder and had to keep going.”

Dirigo pulled one player back to the midfield to help counter Hall-Dale’s pressure. That aided the transition to the front line and the Cougars got back to their passing game.

“We were camping out all three up front,” said Chamberlin. “It worked in the first half, but we needed more pressure in the midfield.”

Dirigo’s defense shored up down the stretch. Anchored by Ambyr Wilson, Michelle Morrison, Mariah Larsen and Kayla Gaudin, Hall-Dale didn’t get another quality bit until a shot hit the crossbar in the final minute.

Bolduc put Dirigo up 1-0 at 8:20 of the first half. Alyssa Wade put a nice ball forward. It sent Bolduc in alone passed two defenders for a chip shot.

“The key there for me is once I get the ball is go to the goal,” said Bolduc. “That’s the only way we’re going to score.”

The Cougars had a number of quality chances in front of the goal but just couldn’t convert to add to the lead.

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