POLAND — When you have the wind, the hustle — and Emily Lane — it’s going to make you tough to beat.
That’s the challenge Sacopee Valley posed for the Poland Knights girls’ soccer team Thursday. The Hawks were scrappy and worked hard while using the wind effectively. Sacopee also managed to free up Lane, their senior sniper, for the game-winning goal in a 1-0 victory.
Lane scored late in the first half, against the wind, and the Hawks shut down the Knights the rest of the way. Poland was outshot 16-2 in its fourth straight loss.
“I give Sacopee a lot of credit,” Poland coach Aaron Rand said. “They really played a good game. They played well defensively together and really limited our chances.”
Poland’s only quality shots came in the first half with the wind. Makayla Dube had the best bid, but Hawk goalie Courtney Ross was there for the save. Beyond that, the Knights (3-7) couldn’t challenge the Sacopee defense. Senior sweeper Catherine Murch led a solid defensive effort that to controlled the play for the second half.
“We had a hard time connecting three or four passes in a row,” Rand said. “We had one or two. Then for some reason we tried to push it up the middle instead of putting it to safe spots on the field.”
Poland’s defense did a solid job and kept Lane and fellow senior forward Kara Singleton in check. Rand put two freshman defenders on the Hawk scoring threats. Lindsay Theriault marked up Lane while Delaney Woodford had Singleton.
“I had two freshmen cover Emily and Kara, which was exciting for me personally because they did an outstanding job,” Rand said. “They really made it difficult for them to find space and get touches on the ball.”
Lane had a couple of shots go wide in the first half. Murch and Maeve Downey had opportunities miss as well. With the wind, the Knights were able to push the ball the other way but struggled to get scoring chances.
“I told the girls that we had to possess the ball and keep it on the ground in the first half,” said Sacopee coach Kevin Murphy, whose team was ranked fourth in the Western C standings. “If you put it in the air, it’s going to blow back at you.”
Lane got free in the final minute when Downey won the ball in the midfield and fed it ahead. Lane outran three defenders and had keeper Cassie Mocciola charging out of the net. Lane put it by her and into an open net with 42 seconds left in the half.
“She’s a phenomenal player and someone a coach loves to have,” Murphy said of Lane. “She’s always been a game-changing player.”
In the second half, the Hawks (7-1-1) utilized the wind and hemmed in the Knights in their defensive end. Poland rarely got the ball down to the other end of the field and managed even less scoring opportunities. The best try came with 12:40 left when Anna Bolduc crossed the ball from the right side but nobody was there to turn it into a shot. Poland had a corner kick moments later, but it was quickly cleared out, and that was the extent of Poland’s offensive thrust in the second half.
“I told them that we didn’t need heroics,” said Murphy, whose team had a late night Wednesday beating Traip in a night game that didn’t end until 9 p.m. “We had a lead. We had to keep the ball on this half of the field and then possess it and see what we get for opportunities.”
Poland worked hard on the defensive side but against the wind and a solid Sacopee team, it was an uphill battle in the second half.
“They didn’t quit,” Rand said. “We’ve lost three of our last four games by a goal. We’ve been in games, and we’ve definitely battled.”
kmills@sunjournal.com
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