ORONO, Maine —- It was Seniors Day at Orono High School on Wednesday and midfielder Diana Tyutyunnyk made her last regular-season appearance on her home field a memorable one.
The striker scored a pair of goals, including the game-winner, and sophomore striker Becky Lopez-Anido notched the other two goals as well as an assist to lead the Red Riots to a 4-0 schoolgirl soccer victory over Dexter.
It was Orono’s seventh straight win as the Red Riots improved to 10-1-1.
Dexter had its five-game winning streak snapped and fell to 9-4.
All four Orono goals came during the final 19:16 of the first half beginning with Tyutyunnyk’s first one.
Giorgia Calcagno, who had just entered the game, tried to cross the ball from the left wing but a Dexter defender got her leg on it and it popped in the air.
“I was able to control it (when it landed) and I passed it into the corner,” said Tyutyunnyk, who slotted it with her right foot to the left of goalkeeper Tasha Pratt from eight yards out.
Lopez-Anido expanded the lead 4:45 later off a pass from midfielder Brinsley Chasse.
Lopez-Anido received the ball in the left of the penalty area and was locked in a one-on-one battle with a Tiger defender.
“I tried to fake her out and I was able to just turn around and get a shot on goal,” said Lopez-Anido, who had her back to the goal before spinning around and rifling a 10-yard shot under the crossbar.
“I looked up but I didn’t even have a second to decide (what I was going to do),” added Lopez-Anido, who credited Chasse for making it possible with her pass.
“This is stuff we we have been working on in practice and it really paid off,” she said.
Lopez-Anido became the provider for Tyutyunnyk’s next goal with a perfectly placed through ball that enabled Tyutyunnyk to burst past a pair of defenders and steer the ball past the helpless Pratt with her right foot. That came with 1:45 left.
“It was a heckuva pass,” said Tyutyunnyk.
Chasse picked up her second assist with 16.9 seconds remaining when she threaded the needle to send Lopez-Anido in on Pratt and Lopez-Anido directed the ball into the net.
“That was an amazing pass,” said Lopez-Anido.
Dexter played well early but the influential Chasse used her quickness and skill to trigger the attack and the Tigers couldn’t contain Tyutyunnyk and Lopez-Anido.
“Their front line is tough. (Tyutyunnyk and Lopez-Anido) are both very skilled players. They’re very tough to play against,” said standout Dexter senior sweeper Christine May.
“Diana and Becky work well together,” said Orono coach Cid Dyjak. “They can be strikers or midfielders and they have enough quickness to be dangerous. And Brinsley played very well. She’s a good player. She’s very composed.”
The hardworking Tigers never gave up and pressed for a goal in the second half but couldn’t put the ball behind sophomore goalie Kaitlin Richards.
Richards finished with two saves on 16 shots.
Senior striker Michaela White was Dexter’s top scoring threat and Pratt wound up with six saves on 28 shots.
Dexter coach Jody Grant said Tyutyunnyk’s game-opening goal proved to be pivotal.
“(After that goal), we couldn’t sustain the concentration level you need to play a team like that. They’re going to take advantage of mistakes and we made too many in that little stretch right there,” said Grant. “We had some chances to score but we’ve got to be hungrier around the net.”
Lopez-Anido said the Riots started slow “but then we picked it up, worked together and strung some passes together. It was really nice.”
Dyjak said senior Bella DeSisto and junior Jordan Hernandez were stout in the back. The other Orono seniors were midfielders Ali Gonyar and Wunderly Rote and injured goalie Vicki Goodwin.