BANGOR, Maine — Despite a hefty edge in possession and scoring chances, the Bangor High School girls soccer team found itself leading archrival Brewer just 1-0 at the half of Tuesday night’s game.
But Bangor coach Joe Johnson substituted freely, and the Rams’ superior depth enabled them to erupt for five second-half goals and post a 6-0 triumph.
Bangor had 36 shots at goal to Brewer’s nine.
Bangor is 2-0 and Brewer is 1-1.
Junior midfielder Megan Conner scored a pair of goals two minutes apart early in the second half to give the Rams a deserved 3-0 lead.
Senior goalkeeper Emily Gilmore saved a pair of Brewer penalty kicks before Sarah Bragg expanded the lead to 4-0. Morgan Trimper and Libby Spekhardt later added insurance goals.
Luci Clein scored the only first-half goal off a Morgan Trimper cross.
“They have a big bench, they’re pretty deep,” said Brewer senior defender Meg Davis. “We played a tough first half, but we got tired in the second half.”
“We played real well,” said Gilmore. “We were flying around all over the field, beating them to the [ball].”
Clein opened the scoring when she sprinted toward the far post, and Trimper, after taking a pass from Lauren Young along the left flank, made a precise left-footed cross that took one hop into the path of Clein, who volleyed it past goalkeeper Mikayla Henderson.
“I knew [Clein] would be going diagonally toward the net, so I decided to pop it over the defender to see if she could get a shot off,” Trimper said.
“There was a defender in front of me, but there wasn’t one behind me, and I hit it with my foot,” Clein said.
Conner extended the lead just 3:20 into the second half when the ball pinballed in the penalty area off a Clein cross and landed on Conner’s at the top of the penalty area.
She calmly slotted a low shot with the inside of her right foot through a maze of players and past the right of Henderson.
“I tried to keep my body over the ball,” said Conner, who spied the open corner.
“I didn’t see it. There were a lot of people in there,” said Henderson.
Conner made it 3-0 when her corner kick glanced into the net off a Brewer defender.
“I was trying to get it more toward the middle of the goal, but it curved off my foot,” said Conner.
A pair of handballs resulted in Brewer penalty kicks, but Gilmore absorbed Emily Lord’s penalty kick in her chest and then extended her left arm to rob Maria Low.
“I’ve never had that happen before,” said Gilmore. “I just looked at the ball and reacted.”
Bragg atoned for a couple of open-net misses in the first half by beating Henderson with a powerful shot from 22 yards out.
Trimper converted a Grace Morris pass from seven yards out, and Spekhardt tapped an Erynne Sauda rebound behind back-up goalie Rose McLaughlin.
Henderson finished with 13 saves and McLaughlin had one. Gilmore made three saves, and Maddie Hodgdon didn’t have to make any after she replaced Gilmore.
Left back Young and midfielder Morris were standouts for Bangor with back-midfielder Hannah Laskey turning in a solid performance for Brewer.
JV: Bangor 4-2