AUBURN — After missing what was a pretty good penalty kick, it took a few moments for Kayla McLellan to put it behind her.
“It motivated me,” said McLellan, a junior St. Dom’s forward. “It took a little bit to shake it off, but it was motivation.”
McLellan made that missed opportunity a mere footnote to Tuesday’s Western C quarterfinal girls’ soccer game. McLellan scored two goals to lift the Saints to a 2-1 win over Lisbon.
After the missed opportunity with the early penalty kick, St. Dom’s (12-3) had to rally from behind. McLellan tied the game midway through the first half and then added the game winner in the second.
“It was unfortunate that we missed a PK,” said St. Dom’s coach Kathy Little, whose team advances to a semifinal against top-ranked Dirigo on Friday at 3:30. “(Lisbon) came back and capitalized on a dead-ball situation. We just stayed composed and never let down and fought right back.”
The Greyhounds (10-4-1) lost to the Saints 2-1 earlier in the month. Lisbon was plagued by defensive miscues Tuesday that led to both goals. St. Dom’s got the defense scrambling and took advantage.
“That’s very similar to the last time we were here,” said Lisbon coach Jake Gentle. “It was a 2-1 game, and it came down to mistakes on either team’s part and teams capitalized. They capitalized one more time than we did.”
St. Dom’s had the chance to take the early lead when a handball was called at 10:05. McLellan took the penalty shot and fired a nice shot to the left side, but Lisbon keeper Alexa Harmon reacted well and got her hands on it.
“I was surprised,” said McLellan. “We were practicing that all week this week. She just got it this time. It was a good save.”
Instead, it was Lisbon seizing momentum when a handball at the other end led to a direct kick for the Greyhounds. Brooke Lawrence placed a wonderful shot high and under the crossbar for the 1-0 lead with 27:12 left.
The Saints controlled play for much of the rest of the half. St. Dom’s was relentless in pursuit of the ball. Lisbon struggled to possess and had an even harder time clearing the ball defensively.
“They won more 50-50 balls than we did,” said Gentle. “There was a stretch of like 15 minutes where they controlled the right side because we couldn’t win a goal kick. Soccer comes down to winning the ball.”
That pressure led to the tying goal. Kelley McLellan’s corner kick wasn’t cleared out well by the Lisbon defense. That led to the ball bouncing around in front of the net. Kayla McLellan eventually got a head on it at the right post with 20:10 left.
“I didn’t realize it until after it happened,” said McLellan. “I got the side of my head on it and it just went in.”
It was another bad clear that led to the Saints second tally in the second half. As Lisbon tried to clear the ball, it hit a St. Dom’s player. That enabled Kirsten Conner to win the ball in the corner and put a shot on net from the left side. Harmon made the stop but couldn’t control it. McLellan was there to touch in the rebound.
“Coach told us to follow our shots,” said McLellan. “I just stuck my foot out and put it in.”
Lisbon tried to mount a comeback but struggled to get quality shots on net. The Saints have allowed just 12 goals all year and only five in the last 10 games. It was St. Dom’s eighth shutout of the year.
Lawrence had a corner with 12 minutes left, but the Greyhounds couldn’t steer it on net. Kayla Angelico had a bid go wide late in the half, and in the final minute, Courtney Martel sent the ball forward for Haley Eck. She had snuck behind the defense but her shot went wide.
“They have a great defense,” said Gentle. “It’s tough to score on them. We had a couple corners that we just missed putting a head on. We had a couple shots at the end that just didn’t go in or went wide.”
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