“Being my senior year and everything, it started out really slow and it hadn’t really hit me, but this week having Boothbay and Dirigo and then Lisbon, it really hit me,” senior forward Faith Grady said. “We really have to start focusing.”

St. Dom’s defeated Boothbay earlier in the week and continued that success with a 4-1 win Wednesday over Dirigo.

Grady had three goals and an assist and the St. Dom’s defense was solid in securing a fifth consecutive win.

The Saints now face unbeaten Lisbon on Friday, and host unbeaten Monmouth next Tuesday.

“I was happy with the play we had today,” St. Dom’s coach Alicia Pelletier said. “We switched up some things. We had some kids step it up in different positions. I was very happy. Sam (Ladd) did an awesome job out back and Faith, obviously, with the hat trick.”

St. Dom’s scored three goals in the first half and did a fine job limiting Dirigo’s chances. The Cougars (3-4) got their lone goal late in the game from Kaitlin Morang.

“(Ladd) is excellent, she’s one of the best defenders we’ve seen all year,” Dirigo coach Dave Buck said. “They did a really nice job shutting down our attack. We have been struggling getting the offense going against some of the tougher defenses.”

The Saints got the first goal with 17:54 left in the first half. With a loose ball not far from the goalmouth, Grady raced past a couple of defenders to win possession. Dirigo keeper Mariah LaFleur charged out and took the brunt of the shot before it deflected off her and in.

“We played Boothbay earlier in the week and we played very flat,” Grady said. “We knew if we played this team how we played (Boothbay), they would run us all over the field. So we knew we had to come out very intense and want the ball more than they wanted it. So getting the first goal right off the bat was very motivating.”

LaFleur left the game and was replaced by Brittany Greig. She had scored three goals in a win earlier in the week but did a fine job in goal, making nine saves.

“We definitely missed having her in the field,” Buck said. “She’s a spark plug.”

Grady made it 2-0 on a penalty kick with 12:37 left. Her speed enabled her to beat a defender and she was subsequently taken down. She buried the penalty shot to the lower left corner.

Just 44 seconds later, Kirsten Conner put home Grady’s cross from the right side for the 3-0 lead.

“They’re definitely accustomed to using the field a little bit more,” Buck said. “It’s the biggest field we see. They have adapted nicely to this field and move the ball nicely.”

Dirigo had a surge of offense late in the half and got a prime shot from Sabrina Daoud, but Saints’ keeper Nicole Robitaille made the save.

Grady finished off her second hat trick in as many games with 27:10 left in regulation. She won the ball in the midfield, raced down the sideline, passed numerous defenders and cut back to tuck the ball inside the right post. It was her 12th goal of the season.

The Saints played consistently throughout the game and were especially solid defensively. Dirigo was limited to a handful of quality shots. Robitaille made some nice saves late in the game, and Ladd was stellar the whole game.

“Sam was awesome today,” Pelletier said. “She has been almost every game. She was playing sick, so I can’t ask for anything better than what she’s been doing.”

Dirigo got its goal with 3:43 left. Summer Bradbury’s hustle on the left side kept the ball in the zone. It came out to Morang, who lofted a nice shot under the crossbar.

“We’ve put people in different positions back there,” Pelletier said about a defense that has allowed just six goals all season. “We were struck by injuries back there and we’re still battling through that. I’m starting a freshman and have another freshman getting a lot of playing time subbing in. They’re stepping up their games and playing hard. That’s all I can ask for. As a defensive core, they’re doing a great job.”

kmills@sunjournal.com

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