Fast forward two months, and the Greyhounds, after a 6-4-4 regular season, earned the right to host a Class C South quarterfinal against No. 5 Waynflete, mostly on the strength of that strong defense and a solid senior campaign from Sult.
The defense and Sult stood out one more time on Wednesday, but the talented Flyers were just too much, capturing a 2-0 victory and ending Lisbon’s season.
“The defense was going to carry our team, and we tried a number of different combinations, with our high scorer being Emma Houle with five goals,” Dube said. “We were hoping for a lot of goals. We scored 18 in 15 games, and it is something we will have to get better at. Many of our stronger girls are freshmen and sophomores. This was a great experience for those younger girls.”
For Sult, who had nine saves, the pressure Waynflete (7-6-2) put on the Greyhounds was too much to overcome.
“It was intense, and I felt the pressure as soon as we walked out onto the field,” Sult said. “This season was tough. But, my girls helped me as much as they could. I am proud of us.”
Defense holds
Waynflete brought strong pressure from the start. Ava Farrar, Amelia Bertaska, Izzy Burdick and Lydia Giguere had the Lisbon defense on its heels throughout the first half. The Greyhounds seemed content in clearing balls out of bounds, with the Flyers earning nine first-half corner kicks.
“They beat us to the 50-50 balls and had more skill, but you had to figure that with the conference that they play in,” said Dube of the Flyers, who compete in the Western Maine Conference.
Still, the game remained scoreless for over 33 minutes, with Sult making three saves. Offensively, throw-ins by Lisbon’s Sydney Douglass caused a few problems in front of Waynflete goaltender Ali Pope. However, Flyer defenders Sophia Sangster, Isabel Canning and Clara Sandberg cleared most of the Greyhound opportunities away, leading to Waynflete transition opportunities.
Waynflete finally broke through with 6:55 remaining until halftime. Lisbon cleared a corner kick toward to midfield, but the ball bounded back toward Sult’s goal. Farrar gained control, took one step and sent a shot between a pair of Lisbon defenders and into the left side of the cage for a 1-0 Flyers lead.
Waynflete kept coming, nearly taking a 2-0 lead when a pass from Giguere just missed connecting with Farrar on the far post.
The Flyers held a 5-1 shot advantage in the opening half, and began the second frame by continuing to pressure the Lisbon defense. It took just over three minutes for Farrar to strike again, this time taking a pass from Elisabeth Lualdi and stepping around a charging Sult before calmly rolling the ball into the cage.
From there, Waynflete cut off most Lisbon chances, winning most one-on-one battles before sending the ball back toward the Greyhound goal.
Sult kept the Greyhounds in it, reaching to her right to stop a hard shot from Canning before reaching up to haul in a long, floating shot from Giguere. Sult had nine saves in all.
“We gave it our all today,” Sult said. “We can be proud of the way we tried. Our effort was there.”
Lisbon’s best chance to score came off a free kick. Carly Drischler sent a pass to sprinting Houle, with Pope getting to the ball first.
After the game, Dube gathered his team one more time. He reflected on how far his squad had come this season.
“We didn’t look very pretty at the beginning of the season,” said Dube of his Greyhounds, who finished 6-5-4. “We talked all week about hustle and heart, that those things can win out. I am proud of them. We have really grown. Even though they are sad now, they were great. We have some young talent and hopefully we can go right back at it next year.”
Waynflete will take on top-seeded Monmouth in the semifinals later this week.
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