FARMINGTON — Eryn Doiron powered in a pair of long-range goals Tuesday afternoon to lift Mt. Blue to a 2-0 win over Oxford Hills in a Class A North girls’ soccer game on Caldwell Field.
Doiron scored a goal, late in each half to cinch the win. Her first coming with 2:41 remaining in the first half and the second with just 25 seconds left in the game.
“Eryn is a strong player for us,” Mt. Blue coach Fred Conlogue said. “She draws a lot of attention and we are trying to get other players to make runs off her possession.”
Realizing the goal scoring potential of the Cougar midfielder, Oxford Hills (0-5) opted to mark both Doiron and Caitlin Kane in the defending end of the field, something that proved beneficial, and kept the Vikings in the game until the end.
“We marked both Doiron and Kane,” Oxford Hills coach Chad Truman said. “We knew going in they would be tough to keep from scoring.”
In a game that featured contrasting styles, both teams took giant steps forward in their play.
The Vikings consistently pressed forward with a quality passing game, while the Cougars looked to flight long balls over the top.
Although the Vikings looked strong in the middle of the field, they failed to generate quality scoring opportunities.
“We’ve got to find a way to get the shots,” Truman said.
“We saw today that we were able to compete. Our team is working hard to get better everyday. We need someone to step up and put the ball in the net.”
Defensively, Cougar sweeper Britlin Karkos was on top of her game, sweeping away potential threats behind the defense. Karkos’s effective play left Mt. Blue keeper Addie Schanz with little to do but scoop up through balls while registering
just two saves.
“Everything Britlin hit today was solid,” Conlogue said. “She was excellent in the back.”
Mt. Blue earned a 15-3 shot advantage, with Doiron taking nine of those shots. In the first half, the talented senior drove a curling, left footed shot from outside the penalty area that flew over the outstretched fingers of Viking goalkeeper Samantha Bickford, who finished the game with seven saves.
Doiron’s best effort came as time was winding down near the end of the game. Dribbling around several players, Doiron spun towards the goal, launching a right footed shot from 24 yards that settled into the top corner of the goal.
Oxford Hill’s defenders Ally Hanley, Concetta Stewart, Jenna Silver and Maighread Laliberte played a sound game in the back for the Vikings, while handling the Cougar long ball threat effectively throughout the game.
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