RUMFORD — There are always changes as high school teams graduate seniors, and those have hit Mountain Valley hard. But the Falcons believe they are heading in the right direction, and they showed that Monday.
Sophomore Lexy Duguay scored two goals, including the game-winner early in the second half, and the Falcons withstood a furious St. Dom’s rally in the second half to earn a 2-1 win at Hosmer Field.
Both teams were trying to get on track after losing their respective openers. Mountain Valley (1-1) was shut out by Oak Hill, while the Saints lost in double overtime to Hall-Dale.
The Falcons used their youth and speed to earn a two-goal lead during the middle stages of the contest.
“We need to be better when we have (control) of the ball,” Mountain Valley coach Melissa Forbes said. “The players can’t hesitate and they have to take shots on goal. But we are experiencing growing pains.”
Mountain Valley was leading by a goal when Duguay gained control of the ball and dribbled down the left side. Saints’ goalie Taylor Bergeron (11 saves) rotated over to cut down the angle, but Duguay didn’t wait and blasted a shot in to the far corner with 22:54 remaining in the second half.
St. Dom’s (0-2) refused to roll over and gained momentum through the final quarter of the game. Callie Greco and Jessica Boulet (who was switched to midfield) applied constant pressure on offense. Boulet took a low shot and Falcons goalie Kassie Thibodeau (12 saves) was forced to dive to the ground and smother the ball. A penalty stroke was called and Brittany Eastman flipped the ball past Thibodeau in to the lower left corner.
“We had come out flat,” Saints coach Brian Kay said. “It was totally different than we had looked against Hall-Dale. We needed more offense and during the final 15 minutes we certainly had chances, but it wasn’t enough.”
The Falcons received some strong play from Ellie Hall, Nicky Couch, Maddie Kaubrys and Kayla Pingree, who stepped up to clear balls away. The Falcons were forced to play shorthanded when Kaubrys was penalized two minutes and the Saints responded. Boulet fired a shot, but Thibodeau alertly rushed out and made a kick save. The Saints had four shots on goal during one sequence.
Duguay had opened the scoring by putting home her own rebound, with eight minutes left in the first. Saints sweeper Courtney Desmarais blocked the initial shot, but Duguay regained possession and fired a shot by Bergeron, who had rushed out.
“We made some changes before the game,” Forbes said. ”Today, Duguay moved to inner and Aly Carlton moved out on the wing to take advantage of her dribbling ability. Freshmen Liza White and MaKayla Burgess at sweeper each contributed. At this point, we need to find the best positions, based on the skill level of the players.”
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