“A tie’s just as good as a win at this point in the season,” EL coach Craig Latuscha said. “When you play a team that has four wins, they were worth more Heal Points than us. This was a game we knew was going to be close. This was a playoff team that we played today, and it could have bounced either way. They could have scored at the end, we could have scored on our breakaway. It just didn’t happen. It was a weird day.”
Deadlocked at the half, Edward Little had more chances as the second frame began, but Schanz and the Cougars’ defense was equal to the task.
And then there was the rain. Just as the halftime break ended, showers quickly became a downpour, sending fans and JV teams scampering for cover. But the teams played on.
“What was really nice to see was, the 15 minutes that it poured, both teams kept playing soccer,” Mt. Blue coach Fred Conlogue said. “Mentally, some teams can really let that change the game, and I thought both teams played well.”
As the rain subsided in the final 20 minutes of regulation, the Cougars steadied things a bit, but EL kept pressuring.
“Overall, the second half was better than the first half,” Latuscha said. “I think we played better as a team , we were passing the ball around better, we just couldn’t score. We didn’t have that finisher today.”
Mt. Blue (4-4-1) and EL (2-4-3) are locked in a battle among four or five teams in the final playoff positions in Class A North. EL, with three ties already this season, is in an awkward spot in terms of the Heal Points because of it. Mt. Blue just need to keep winning, or earning ties against teams who should also pick up victories.
“Everyone in seven, eight, nine and 10 is beating up on each other,” Conlogue said. “To come on the road and get a tie was good for us.
“(Edward Little) hasn’t gotten on a roll like last season with the wins,” Conlogue said. “I think it was a good time to play them, as well. I know EL will be a good team down the stretch.”
A Lewiston win over Cony on Tuesday further muddied the playoff waters.
The Eddies started well on their home turf, much like in last year’s matchup against the Cougars. Norcross finished with authority from just inside the 18-yard box with a shot past a diving Schanz into the lower left corner for a 1-0 lead just 4:22 into the contest.
“Last year, they had a really good intensity to their game, and they took it to us and got their first two goals quickly,” Conlogue said. “Kind of like how they got their goal (Tuesday). It woke us up, I think, and we learned from that from last season, and it helped us.”
Mt. Blue controlled most of the play through the midfield for the rest of the first half, and Doiron — who is closing in on the school scoring record — capped a good spell of pressure with a flick off her head on a feed from Caitlin Kane that popped over Haines with 17:11 to play in the first.
“That was a great header by a great player,” Latuscha said. “She’s one of the players we talked about before the game. we had to stay with (Doiron), she’s got a great left foot.”
Despite that goal, though, Latuscha was happy with Haines’ play, Tuesday and all season.
“She played pretty well,” Latuscha said. “This is her first year playing the position, and she’s really improved every game, she’s progressively gotten better.”
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