AUBURN — Craig Latuscha wasn’t trying to make a fashion statement Thursday.
The Edward Little girls’ soccer coach simply wanted to get a rise out of his Red Eddies, so he wore green shorts to Thursday’s KVAC matchup against Oxford Hills — a team with green as one of its primary colors.
“I wanted to make (my players) angry,” Latuscha said.
Sure enough, his Red Eddies produced an inspired effort in a 4-1 win over the Vikings. It was the first win of the season for EL, which had gone 0-1-1 to start the year.
“We’ve got some high expectations this year after last year,” said Latuscha, whose team won the Eastern A title before losing in the state championship. “We’ve had a huge target on our backs since the start of the season because of what we did last year. It’s a different group of girls. They’re definitely working hard. They have the talent. They’re putting it together, and they work well together. There’s been games where we’ve been pretty dominant, but unfortunately we didn’t come out on top.”
EL tied Mt. Ararat to open the season and lost to Messalonskee on Tuesday, 3-2. Against the Vikings (0-3), EL got two goals from Piper Norcross and added tallies from Lauren Berube and Katie Ferrara.
“It was really nice to win,” said Norcross, a sophomore striker. “Everyone was pumped for this game. We were all working really hard to win.”
The Vikings got a goal from Olivia Swift and a strong outing in goal from Samantha Bickford, who finished with 13 saves. Oxford Hills started the year with 6-0 and 5-0 losses to Bangor and Hampden, respectively.
“We’re working on our defensive game,” Oxford Hills coach Chad Truman said. “We made a formation change against Hampden and really strengthened our defense. We held Hampden to one goal in the second half. We were just trying to build on that momentum here. I’m starting to see it click.”
Though the Vikings played hard and gave EL a battle, Oxford Hills just couldn’t generate the kind of quality chances it needed. EL limited shots to the outside. Sarah Hammond and Kaylee Jipson cleared out anything in the middle. Keeper Francesca-Beth Haines made the necessary saves, finishing with eight.
The Vikings got some pressure with Anna Piirainen, Caroline Burns and Krystin Paine attacking up front, but couldn’t produce many point-blank opportunities early.
“With the formation that we’re playing, we expect that,” Truman said. “It’s really an attempt to keep us in the game so that we can develop more offense.”
EL moved the ball effectively and set up a nice attack. Beating Bickford wasn’t easy. She made a diving save on Morgan Knowlton early in the game and made 11 stops in the first half.
The Red Eddies broke through with 19:02 left in the first half. Grace Beaudet made a nice pass from the midfield for Norcross up front, who chased it down and buried the opportunity.
“It’s really nice knowing what my teammates are going to do,” Norcross said. “So I can help them out.”
She scored again with 12:49 left in the half. A Viking defender knocked the ball down in front, but didn’t clear it. Norcross was there for the rebound. She settled the ball and put it into the left corner.
“I was really nervous,” Norcross said. “I knew I had to do it for my teammates.”
EL had a lead against Mt. Ararat but watched the Eagles tie it late in the season opener. The Red Eddies made sure this one didn’t get away. Knowlton put a shot on net that bounced off Bickford. Berube was there to put in the rebound with 19:16 left. Then minutes later, Sarah Hammond put a pass in front. Emily Jacques had the initial shot that was saved. Ferrara steered in the rebound at the left side for the 4-0 lead.
“It’s the beginning of the season,” Latuscha said. “We had some big holes to fill. A lot of the players are stepping up.”
The Vikings got one back late in the game. Ally Hanley’s corner kick was redirected home by Swift from about seven yards out. Oxford Hills had started getting a strong push in the second half and showed some positive signs on offense. It was the first goal of the season for the Vikings, who have games with Camden, Mt. Blue, Brunswick and Mt. Ararat coming up.
The task doesn’t get any easier for EL, either. The Red Eddies play at Bangor Saturday and host Lewiston next Tuesday.
“I think we could have played a lot better,” Latuscha said. “I’m proud of their effort. A win is a win. They scored four goals. That’s the highest number of the season and a lot of girls got to play. So that’s positive.”
kmills@sunjournal.com
Send questions/comments to the editors.
