Mt. Abram’s Maya Caron and goalie Emily Kidd battle with Lisbon’s Carley Drischler for a ball moments before it landed in the goal during Wednesday afternoon’s soccer game in Lisbon. (Andree Kehn/Sun Journal)
LISBON FALLS —Think physical whenever Lisbon and Mt. Abram square off on a soccer field.
The Greyhounds were forced to work around all this rough-and-tumble stuff to tuck in three goals in the second half and dispatch the Roadrunners, 3-0 on a cool-and-cloudy Wednesday afternoon.
The frequency of players being knocked to the ground in this pugnacious Mountain Valley Conference girls’ soccer game wasn’t a surprise — especially to the coaches.
“It’s unfortunate to the girls that we had to explain to them that you really have to push through it and can’t really let them get into your head because that’s what they were trying to do,” Lisbon coach Jennifer Perron said. “We were lucky and we played with a level head today.”
You can write off the scoreless first half as a series of missed opportunities for both teams. Shots went wide or over the net, but each team never let up.
“It was frustrating,” Mt. Abram coach Lanie Roy said. “Our word of the season is ‘adversity,’ so we have been through quite a bit. I came into this season three weeks in.
“It’s battling and taking advantage of the chances that we have and working together.
“We were expecting a physical game today. We were talking to some other teams. I had two of my starters on the bench at the end of the game with injuries.”
But while the push and shoving didn’t abate, Lisbon’s offense finally found a way around Mt. Abram freshman goalie Emily Kidd (eight saves).
Senior midfielder Emma DiGregorio scored on an assist by senior forward Jordan Ott at the 31:52 mark.
DiGregorio’s goal held up for the next 10 minutes before junior Giana Russo scored thanks to an assist from junior striker Kiley Merritt with 20:55 left in the game.
Merritt turned around and scored five minutes later, with senior midfielder Carly Drischler earning the assist, to give the Greyhounds a 3-0 lead.
“If balls down here went a different way, it would have been a 3-3 game,” Roy said. “The soccer gods weren’t on our side today.”
But the Roadrunners had numerous chances to score and saw a handful shots sail over the net or were frustrated by Lisbon goalie Sarah Haggerty’s efforts. She made 12 saves.
“We work really hard on the rotations so that we have coverage at all times,” Perron said. “We knew they had some quick girls and we knew that they were physical so we knew communication was key. That’s what saved us today.”
For the day, Lisbon outshot Mt. Abram, 20-17 and led in corners, 7-2.
Mt. Abram’s Maya Caron and goalie Emily Kidd battle with Lisbon’s Carley Drischler for a ball moments before it landed in the goal during Wednesday afternoon’s soccer game in Lisbon. (Andree Kehn/Sun Journal)
Mt. Abram’s Summer Ross attempts to maneuver the ball past Lisbon’s Siara Martin during Wednesday afternoon’s soccer game in Lisbon. (Andree Kehn/Sun Journal)
Mt. Abram’s Alice Mackay and Lisbon’s Caitlyn Hall go for a kick at the same time during Wednesday afternoon’s soccer game in Lisbon. (Andree Kehn/Sun Journal)
Lisbon’s Sophia DiGregorio and Mt. Abram’s Brynna Zelie keep their eyes on the ball during Wednesday afternoon’s soccer game in Lisbon. (Andree Kehn/Sun Journal)
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