The Patriots won one and lost one this week. They fell 4-0 when they visited the North Yarmouth Academy Panthers, then won 3-0 the following night when they hosted the Lake Region Lakers. It was a physically and mentally challenging couple of days for the Patriots. Both games were hard fought, physically rough games. The first game against the Panthers also saw a season ending injury for the Patriots.
The Panthers took an early lead against the Patriots, scoring less than two minutes in when the ball bounced around the box after a breakaway save by Ivy Abrams. After a shaky first few minutes of the game, the Patriots took control for the rest of the half. They created several great opportunities, but were unable to convert them. The second half began with more dominant play by the Patriots and several great shots. A little over sixteen minutes into the second half the Panthers scored again in a one on one situation with Ivy.
Shortly after the second goal Nicole Cobb went down with a serious injury. You could feel the mood change, as all the Patriots were worried about their teammate. The Panthers would put in two more goals on breakaway situations over the last fifteen minutes of the game, snuffing out any chance of a comeback the Patriots had.
The Patriots bounced back quite nicely the following night when they hosted the Lakers. They came out hard and fast from the opening kick off through the final whistle of the game. The Patriots had several scoring opportunities in the first half, but couldn’t figure out how to get the ball past the Lakers’ keeper.
The second half was a different story though. The Patriots made a slight tactical change that made a huge difference. Amelia Cobb scored the opening goal of the game when Ashleen Perkins dribbled past the defense on the right side of the field and sent a low cross into the box near the six yard line. The cross found Amelia perfectly, who just put her left food out and redirected the ball into the back of the net.
The second goal of the game took a little longer to come than expected. The Patriots put up shot after shot, but didn’t break through again until a corner kick with seven minutes left. West Duffy had several fantastic corner kicks during the game and had another at this point. She sent the ball in, tipped off the keeper’s hands and Ellie Schlichting was the first to it put it into the back of the net from just in front of the goal line.
Amelia would cap off the scoring for the night when she scored her second with under a minute left. Liza Sturgis made a fantastic pass to find Amelia at the top of the eighteen. She quickly turned and got by the defender and calmly sent the ball to the far post, giving the keeper no chance to stop the shot. Liz Smith played a huge part in goal for the Lakers to prevent the Patriots scoring more than they did. She had an impressive sixteen saves on the night.
The Patriots move to 3-3 after the two games. They will look to build on this when they travel to Windham to take on the Eagles Monday October 19th. JV will play first at 5pm and Varsity will follow at 7pm.