Maranacook senior forward Taylor Rioux, left, and Monmouth Academy freshman forward Alicen Burnham chase down a ball during their C South quarterfinal soccer game on Tuesday at Monmouth Academy. (Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal)
MONMOUTH — Just as Mother Nature’s deluge stopped, Tia Day’s was just beginning.
Day scored all four of Monmouth’s goals in the span of 10 minutes to lead the top-seeded Mustangs to a 4-0 victory over No. 8 Maranacook in the Class C South soccer quarterfinals on Tuesday.
Monmouth (14-1) will host a former Mountain Valley Conference rival, No. 4 St. Dom’s, in the semifinals on Friday. Maranacook ends its season at 6-5-4.
“Tia hasn’t been hitting the net a lot lately, but she was on tonight,” Monmouth coach Gary Trafton said. “She helped get us through. And our defense played great. Abby (Allen) and Libby (Clement) back there. It was a team effort.”
The game started in a downpour, and Monmouth seemed to be stuck in the mud. The Black Bears won most of the 50-50 balls and controlled possession for the first 20 minutes.
But Day and the Mustangs got going as the rain subsided. The senior outraced two Black Bear defenders and goalie Skyeler Webb to a pass from Audrey Fletcher to the far post and tucked it inside the post to Webb’s left for a 1-0 lead at 20:21.
“I saw that the goalie came out so I knew I had to get a shot off early and try to keep it on the ground,” Day said.
Maranacook had a chance to draw even when Lauren Clough dribbled in on a short breakaway, but she didn’t get much on her shot and it was an easy roller for Monmouth goalie Destiny Clough (11 saves).
Day redirected a cross from Fletcher inside the left post for her second goal at 23:05.
“I felt like we controlled a lot of the first half and then I look up and we’re down 2-0,” Maranacook coach Travis Magnusson said. “I thought we had a lot of chances. They are just so good at finishing their chances when they’re in the 18.”
Day collected the hat trick a little over three minutes later when a Maranacook player was called for charging and Clement’s free kick found her inside the 18.
“Not only do they have the three players up front (strikers Day, Fletcher and Alicen Burnham), but (Clement) is really good in the back,” Magnusson said. “She took away a lot of our chances.”
One minute later, the Black Bears were awarded a penalty kick, which Nicole D’Angelo tried to convert at the far post. Destiny Clough made a terrific diving stop to her left to maintain the shutout.
“I was really nervous at first because, I’ll be honest with you, I’m not that great at PKs,” Clough said. “But I just read where she was going to go and I took it. It was kind of hard to read her at first, but once she took the step in, I kind of knew where she was going.”
“We work on PKs a lot all season long. We have five kids that shoot them every day, just about, and now in the playoffs we’ve got 10 kids shooting, so she sees a lot,” Trafton said. “She made a heck of a save.”
Day’s fourth goal was an arching shot from about 30 yards out over the outstretched arms of Webb (15 saves).
Maranacook had two good chances to get on the board in the second half, but Ally Phair’s follow-up attempt on a rebound went wide right and Destiny Clough made another diving stop to deny D’Angelo.
Monmouth Academy senior forward Tia Day, left, tries to get around Maranacook junior midfield Alysia Cyr during their C South quarterfinal game at Monmouth Academy. Maranacook keeper Skyeler Webb is at right. (Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal)
Monmouth Academy senior forward Tia Day, left, celebrates scoring her third goal in a 4-0 shutout of Maranacook in their girls soccer C South quarterfinal at Monmouth Academy on Tuesday. Maranacook keeper Skyeler Webb is at right. (Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal)
Monmouth Academy sophomore forward Audrey Fletcher, left, and Marancook senior midfielder Naomi Moulton chase down a ball during their C South quarterfinal game at Monmouth Academy on Tuesday. (Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal)
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