AUBURN – Despite outplaying the Leavitt Hornets in the first half, no one on the Edward Little sidelines was pleased.
The Red Eddies outshot their opponent 11-1 in the first 40 minutes, but had only goose eggs on the scoreboard. After using the intermission break to put the first half behind them, it didn’t take long for things to change.
Lyndsey St. Hilaire connected for the first of her two goals 33 seconds into the the second half to ignite the Red Eddies attack and help capture a 3-0 KVAC girls’ soccer victory Tuesday.
“We didn’t play as a team at all,” said St. Hilaire. “We were yelling at each other. It was not good.”
After losing a hard-fought 2-1 match to rival Lewiston Monday night, Edward Little lacked spark.
“We thought if we were going to have a letdown, it was going to be tonight,” said Red Eddies coach Tom Grossman. “In the second half we picked up the tempo and played the way we were capable.
As the second half began, the Red Eddies swiftly moved the ball toward the Hornet goal. St. Hilaire picked up a loose ball and quickly forced her way through an opening in front and deposited a shot just inside the far post to beat Leavitt keeper Kat Rothe (19 saves).
“I just saw the goalie in front of me and I needed to tuck it away,” said St. Hilaire.
Twenty minutes later, the Red Eddies (5-2) struck again off a corner kick. Olivia Welch sent a high, lofting shot toward the front of the Leavitt cage that came down in front of Liz Esponnette. Her initial shot was stopped by Rothe, but she pounced on her own rebound and slid it into the open net.
The two-goal deficit proved too much for the under-manned Hornets (0-6).
“We’re playing without four of our starters, and we lost another one in the first half,” said Leavitt coach Mark Thibodeau. “We only had three girls available on the bench and had kids playing in positions they weren’t accustomed to. There wasn’t any quit in them, and (the Red Eddies) had to work for their goals.
St. Hilaire’s second goal came with 13:59 left on an assist from Alice Read.
Brittney French only had to make a pair of easy saves to earn the shutout.
“Those were her first two goals of the year,” Grossman said of St. Hilaire’s scores. “We told the kids if you get inside the 18, crack a shot. Tonight we finally did that.”
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