Girls' soccer: Unbeaten Brunswick boxes out Edward Little, 4-0

Brunswick’s Lea Scrapchansky (11) holds off Edward Little’s Piper Norcross from getting to the ball while Emma Banks (4) looks on during the Dragons’ 4-0 win in Auburn on Thursday.

AUBURN — The team that plays the best inside the 18-yard box in a soccer game is oftentimes the team that wins a soccer game.

That was the case Thursday between undefeated Brunswick and host Edward Little. The Dragons were able to bury a few of their chances inside the box, while the Red Eddies weren’t able to get a targeted foot on their few opportunities in a 4-0 loss in a KVAC Class A North girls’ soccer game.

Neither team was able to key in on the net in the early minutes, but the Dragons (11-0) put two shots on EL goalie Taylor Depot 30 seconds apart 13 minutes in.

The first goal came five minutes later, when the Dragons took advantage of friendly bounce off a failed Edward Little (4-6-1) clear. Anna Kousky pounced on the ball at the top of the box and looped a shot over the head of Depot.

“The first 10 minutes I thought we were struggling, but once we got used to it, got the goal, settled us down,” Brunswick coach Martyn Davidson said.

Brunswick made it 2-0 seven minutes later. Maeve Arthur’s shot from the left was deflected away by Depot, but Marley Groat was there on the right side to blast the rebound in.

“That’s always one of the things we talk about, getting to the ball first. And we just always try our hardest, especially on a field like this where it’s just kind of unpredictable,” Arthur said.

“It’s always good to finish. And I thought we showed good hunger to get them,” Davidson said. “There were a couple of scrappy goals first half. Our girls showed good determination to get on the end of it and finish the job.”

The Red Eddies’ best chances in the first half came on free kicks, but one from Lauren Berube went just wide of the top-left corner of the goal with 14 minutes left and another one from long distance by Caroline Hammond bounced right into the arms of Brunswick goalie Beth Labbe.

The Dragons had a better start to the second than they did the first. Arthur made it 3-0 less than nine minutes in, taking a through ball from Emily Larochelle and hammering home a shot off Depot from point-blank range.

“I think that we do a really good job working up the field, and then when we’re in the final third we have really good execution,” Arthur said.

EL’s closest call for a goal came just over two minutes later, but Piper Norcross’s shot in the box rolled just wide and Hannah Chaput couldn’t get a foot on re-directing it in.

“Obviously we played a really good team. They’re undefeated for a reason. They have quite a few finishers on their team,” EL coach Craig Latuscha said. “It comes down to finishing. If we scored a couple of those chances that we did get, specifically in the second half, it may put a little bit of pressure on them and picked my team up a little bit.”

Labbe denied Berube twice down the stretch, both on kicks from outside the box.

“Their keeper, she made some big saves,” Latuscha said. “Some of those free kicks we had, she made a great save.”

Sara Scrapchansky completed the scoring with 13 minutes left, taking a pass from Rae Bamberger and dribbling it into the middle of the box before putting a shot under Depot, who made nine saves.

Labbe finished with four saves on just four on-target EL shots.

“We kind of compromised a little bit. We like to pass the ball … but we didn’t today,” Davidson said. “I told my back four ‘take no chances, let’s get it forward and we’ll take our chances at their end of the field,’ and that’s what happened.”

wkramlich@sunjournal.com

Brunswick’s Lea Scrapchansky (11) battles for the ball with Edward Little’s Sarah Charest with Lydia Celani a step behind during the Dragons’ 4-0 win in Auburn on Thursday.Edward Little goalie Taylor Depot gets to a ball ahead of Brunswick’s Maeve Arthur (9) while Ella Boucher looks on during the Dragons’ 4-0 win in Auburn on Thursday.Edward Little’s Lauren Berube, right, shields the ball from Brunswick’s Marley Groat during the Dragons’ 4-0 win in Auburn on Thursday.Edward Little goalie Taylor Depot prepares to corral a bouncing ball before Brunswick’s Sara Scrapchansky can get to it during the Dragons’ 4-0 win in Auburn on Thursday.Edward Little’s Lauren Berube, left, dribbles up the sideline ahead of Brunswick’s Lea Scrapchansky during the Dragons’ 4-0 win in Auburn on Thursday.