AUBURN — Cape Elizabeth spread the ball around Monday in it 5-1 victory over St. Dominic Academy.
Five players scored a goal for the Capers (2-0).
“We made most of our scoring opportunities, and we took advantage of having penalty corners early,” Cape Elizabeth coach Maura Bisogni said.
St. Dom’s (0-2) is learning to play with only one sub, since it only has 11 players on the roster. Last season, the Saints had 14 players.
“We are learning to work together as a team, grow and rebuild,” first-year coach Mercedes Archer said.
The scoring started nearly four minutes into the first quarter. The Capers applied pressure in the circle and freshman midfielder Shyla McVeigh earned a penalty stroke. McVeigh’s shot beat Saints goalie Maia Cote (15 saves) for a 1-0 lead.
Bisogni said the coaching staff knew McVeigh would be an impactful player early in her high school career.
“We knew Shyla was going to be starting varsity, and we had an informal practice yesterday and we practiced penalty strokes,” Bisogni said. “I had a sense those would be happening soon. She’s ready and skilled to take those.”
Cape Elizabeth kept the ball in the offensive side of the field for the majority of the opening quarter, and Sophia Chung extended the lead to 2-0 nine minutes in.
St. Dom’s found its footing in the second quarter and had the ball on its offensive side of the field more. They Saints even forced Cape Elizabeth to use a timeout early in the quarter after getting some penalty corners and shots on Capers goalie Zoe Burgard (eight saves).
“We turned around when we got that momentum and drive,” Archer said. “It takes a little bit for the girls to get there, but once we do, we have a killer team.”
Bisogni said the defense also stepped up when the Saints applied pressure.
“They have some good skill up front, and they are fast,” Bisogni said of St. Dom’s. “They caught us a little flat-footed and our defensive corner unit, especially Piper Rickman, did a great job flying out and stopping — they had a lot of corners in the second quarter.”
St. Dom’s had five penalty corners in the second quarter and had 10 total in the game. Cape Elizabeth had 11 penalty corners in the game.
The Saints continued to put shots on goal in the third quarter, but Burgard kept St. Dom’s off the scoreboard.
Mia Frost gave the Capers a 3-0 lead late in the third quarter.
“It was good to get the momentum back, to extend the lead, and they could play a little bit more freer to get our offense moving again,” Bisogni said of Frost’s goal.
The Saints, playing with the short bench, became more tired in the fourth quarter. Chloe Synder took advantaged and sent a deep shot into the cage, giving Cape Elizabeth a 4-0 lead.
“The heat definitely got to us in the fourth quarter,” Archer said. “Hopefully, we will be able to recover from it.”
St. Dom’s kept battling, and newcomer Alana Wheeler got the Saints’ only goal nine minutes into the fourth quarter.
“It’s a great thing to accomplish as an eighth-grader,” Archer said.
Celia White scored later in the fourth for the Capers to cap the scoring for a 5-1 lead.
Bisogni said the Capers are playing well early in the season.
“We are 2-0, we won at home and we won one away,” Bisogni added. “We won one on grass and we won one on turf. So, we are going to keep going.”
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