DIXFIELD — A meeting of teams seemingly headed in different directions in the standings turned into a tight, entertaining contest Wednesday afternoon in a Mountain Valley Conference girls’ soccer game at Harlow Park.
Tia Rotolico and Avery Lutrzykowski each scored in the second half as St. Dom’s recorded a 2-0 win over Dirigo less than a week after a four-goal Saints victory in Auburn.
In Wednesday’s contest, the teams battled to a scoreless tie through the first half. The Dirigo defense, including sweeper Summer Bradbury, backs Alexis Theriault and Sela Smith, and stopper Nicole Whitman, stepped up to derail the Saints’ strong passing game.
“Definitely, we were more aggressive this time,” said Dirigo goalie Mariah Lafleur, who was injured in the first St. Dom’s game. “We played together and more as a team.”
St. Dom’s (6-0-1) wasn’t itself in the first half, but adjusted and started out strong in the second, gaining momentum by attacking the ball, which Dirigo was unable to match.
Rotolico opened the scoring with a one-time kick from 20 yards just 3:10 into the second half. Rotolico received the ball just outside the box and nailed it in to the far corner.
“We hadn’t come out of the gates very strong,” St Dom’s coach Alicia Pelletier said. “They battled, but we need to focus on getting balls through. In the second half, we needed to focus on not just dumping the ball in to the corner, but kick balls to the feet because the Dirigo defense was getting back.”
St. Doms maintained the pressure and scored again six minutes later. Lutrzykowski received a touch pass from Kristina Cornelio on the left side and directed the ball past Lafleur (13 saves) into the far corner of the net.
“The Dirigo field is narrower and crowned on the sides,” said Rotolico, who hit the post in the first half. “They had home field advantage. But, I think our ability to pass the ball has helped lead us to been so successful.”
The Saints’ defense, led by Rileigh Stebbins and Christine Chasse roved well, keeping Dirigo (0-7) forwards Kelsey Theriault and Brittany Greig off the board. Greig did break free, but her shot went wide right. Saints goalie Victoria Sassé (four saves) rushed out to smother another offering.
“The girls came out with intensity,” first-year Cougars coach Kevin Prevost said. “They were super excited to play today, and it carried onto the field. A couple mistakes cost us, but that will happen. I am really impressed with their game play.”
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