Five different players scored for Mt. Blue (3-3-1) as the Cougar middies were excellent in transferring the ball from one side of the field to the other, generating quality looks at the cage.
Mt. Blue finished with a 24-3 advantage in shots.
“For us its been about getting the ball in the cage, all season,” Mt. Blue coach Jody Harmon said. “Today was encouraging, we played with confidence.”
Young and inexperienced, Brewer (2-4-0) had few chances on the attacking end, seldom advancing the ball over midfield.
“We got outplayed, we’re a very young team but we worked and gave a good effort,” Brewer coach Sarah Estes said. “We continue to work hard, I’m excited about where we are going.”
After a frustrating first 15 minutes, where Mt. Blue dominated play but was unable to score, middie Hannah Minns stepped into the circle to drive home a pass from Samantha Ellis at 15:01 for a 1-0 lead.
Four minutes later the Cougars were back on the attack when Adelle Foss hit the right post. The deflection rebounded to Ellis, who safely tucked the ball into the corner of the cage for a 2-0 advantage.
Emily Eustis improved the lead to 3-0 with 7:38 remaining in the first half, scoring an unassisted goal.
“We have spent a lot of time in practice with the middies keeping the ball in front of the attack,” Eustis said. “Today we were able to execute that, along with better communication and passing.”
Mt. Blue continued the onslaught in the second half scoring on a pair of textbook give and go plays that worked to perfection. Abby Wallace scored from eight yards on a pass from Rebecca Harmon, and Hannah LeClair netted from the right side on a Leah St. Laurent pass to push the lead to 5-0.
LeClair added the final goal, on a St. Laurent feed, with 11:31 left in the game.
Mt. Blue goalkeeper Erika McArthur turned away two shots while Brewer’s Michele Maybury collected nine saves.
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