LISBON – By the time Boothbay keeper Amanda McFetridge turned to face the field after officials awarded Lisbon an indirect kick, a ball off the foot of Soleil Mathieu was whizzing past her head.
“Actually, in practice, the coach tells us to slow down so the defense has a chance to set up against us,” said Mathieu.
Instead of waiting for the defense to set up, Angie Estes quickly tapped the ball as she crossed in front of the senior midfielder, and Mathieu unleashed a bomb that caught a Boothbay defender on the side of the head before careening past McFetridge.
That speed and precision on offense were too much for Boothbay to handle. Mathieu had two goals and contributed to another with a long throw-in to lead Lisbon to a 4-0 win.
“We still have a little bit of work to do,” said Lisbon coach Claude Rioux. “We still have five freshmen playing, and everyone is still learning their roles.”
Saige Purser scored the other two Lisbon goals, one off a corner kick that Mathieu fanned on trying to head the ball into the net, and the other on the long throw from the left sideline by Mathieu.
“Having (Mathieu and Purser) out there is like having two extra coaches out on the field for the rest of the girls,” said Rioux. “Even when you have seniors, you don’t always have those, and it’s great to have on this team.”
The Lisbon defense also played well in front of freshman keeper Samantha Purcell, who had to make just five saves to earn the shutout.
Purser scored the first Lisbon goal in the 11th minute when Ashley Mason’s corner kick sailed just high over Mathieu’s head and landed at Purser’s feet.
“It was wide-open,” said Purser. “The goalie was, um, I don’t know where she was.”
Ten minutes later, Mathieu potted her first on a cross from the left by Megan Latour, and the Greyhounds started the second half with that 2-0 lead.
Purser netted her second goal on a long throw by Mathieu to make it 3-0 at the four-minute mark of the second half.
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