BATH — Prior to Thursday’s Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference girls’ soccer rematch at the McMann Field Complex, Leavitt Hornets coach Chris Cifelli talked about the hard work his young team, with several freshmen and sophomores on the field preparing to take on a talented Morse Shipbuilders squad, has put in this season.

 

After his team’s hard-fought 3-1 loss, which dropped the Hornets to 3-4-1 on the season (two losses coming to Morse, including a 2-1 double overtime setback on Sept. 9), Cifelli was proud of his team’s efforts, along with the improved growth of his youngish squad.

 

“We were just talking during our post-game that the question we want to ask is ‘did we deserve to win?’” Ciffelli said. “Today, that answer was ‘yes,’ and right now I am not too worried about outcome, but in this team taking away the small victories and getting another goal against a really good team.”

 

Morse controlled the opening half, outshooting the Hornets 11-3. Leavitt goaltender Angela Daigle was stellar, making eight stops to keep the game scoreless.

 

And, Leavitt seemed to gain some momentum in the late stages of the frame, firing its only three shots over the final three minutes, with Morse goaltender Alesha Aucoin having to make a diving save off a Shannon O’Malley try, resulting in Leavitt’s lone corner kick of the opening 40 minutes. 

 

“In the last five minutes of the first half we lost focus and stopped going after the ball, and they had opportunities,” Morse coach Steve Boyce said. “We had the opportunities in the first half, and I was happy that we came up with the first goal in the second half to take control.”

 

The 6-1 Shipbuilders, who visit Camden Hills on Saturday, jumped on top when Sophie Sreden curled a corner kick inside the near post and off the hands of Daigle (14 saves) 10:29 into the second frame.

 

Leavitt had a handful of chances over the next 10 minutes, the best coming off the foot of Lilianna Cousineau after a pass from Emily Perkins. The shot rolled inches wide of the target to keep the Shipbuilders ahead by one goal.

 

Moments later, Morse gained a 2-0 edge when Lauren Pelletier’s chip shot sailed through the wind and settled into the far corner of the goal out of Daigle’s reach. Miracle Trimble picked up an assist.

 

“I didn’t think it was going to go in, and I didn’t see it go in because of the sun,” said Pelletier of her game-winning tally with 14:16 left in regulation. 

 

“Once we got a two-goal lead, it looked as though a weight was lifted off their shoulders and we played with more confidence, and even after the nice shot by Leavitt, they never lost that confidence,” said Boyce, who watched the Hornets cut the lead in half on a Victoria DeCoster goal with 3:10 remaining in regulation. “There are certain teams that match up good against you, and Leavitt is traditionally a tough game. We had an overtime game there, and this one was tough.”

 

“I knew the team needed it if we had a chance of winning,” said DeCoster of her goal off a direct kick. “No matter who the other team is, we never stop fighting. We’re used to being the underdogs, and we showed them that we have a chance to win and can be just as good as these teams, maybe better.”

 

Morse answered right back, as Trimble slipped behind the Leavitt defense and scored on a breakaway with 1:57 left to put the Hornets away.

 

“We knew that we would have limited chances, and the ones we did have we were going to have to score on, and it would have been nice to bury one and have Morse play from behind,” Cifelli said. “They scored that first one, and it was still early enough to make something happen, then it was 2-0 and we just ran out of time.”

 

“Usually the second half is our half,” said Pelletier, whose team has won two straight after its only loss, a 7-0 setback to Waterville on Sept. 19. “We were really down on ourselves after the Waterville game, and we have been able to come back and get a couple wins. We just have to lock it in.”

 

Leavitt defenders Olivia Gilbert, Taylor Benson and Miranda Coombs did a good job keeping Morse on the edges throughout a majority of the game.

 

“We want to compete against the best. We want to have a game plan and stick to it, not just stay close, but compete,” said Cifelli, whose squad plays host to Nokomis on Tuesday. “We need to take away some of the things that Morse does well and add that to our game.”