HERMON, Maine — The Hermon High School girls soccer team remained undefeated on Saturday afternoon but it didn’t come easy.
The Hawks received first-half goals from Brianna Saulter and Emi Higgins and survived a second-half goal from Opal Curless to nip Mount Desert Island 2-1 on a blustery, warm day.
There was little to choose between the two sides as the Trojans used their superior size and strength to win a majority of the 50-50 balls and disrupt the speedy Hawks’ passing game.
Neither team generated many high-percentage shots as both defenses were well organized and tenacious on the ball. The windy conditions made it difficult for the teams to string together passing sequences.
“I think we were a little off today,” said Hermon coach M.J. Ball, whose Hawks improved to 4-0-1. “But the way I see it, good teams find ways to win, even if they have to win ugly.
“MDI always plays well against us. It was a good physical battle,” added Ball. “We need to do a better job taking care of the ball.”
“This was one of our best games of the season,” said dynamic senior midfielder Curless, whose Trojans are now 4-2. “They’re really good and we played right with them. It was really fun.”
Junior Saulter opened the scoring just 9:49 into the game when she worked a nifty give-and-go with Alex Allain. Saulter launched a 22-yard strike that trickled over the goal line after it struck the hands of MDI senior back-up goalkeeper Julianna Cleaves, a defender who was filling in for Keely McConomy, who underwent recent minor surgery.
It was just her third game as a goalkeeper.
“I tried to hit it hard and put it in a corner. Even though it went at the goalie, it still went in,” said Saulter.
Junior center back Higgins extended the lead from the penalty spot with 47 seconds left in the half after a Hawk was pushed down in the penalty area.
Higgins sailed her shoulder-high penalty kick to the left of Cleaves, who finished with five saves on 16 shots.
Curless, who will attend Syracuse University in the fall, cut the lead in half with 19:50 remaining in regulation. She lofted a high, 26-yard shot from a tough angle near the right sideline into the far corner past Hermon goalie Bryanne Crouse, who wound up with four saves on 14 shots.
“I figured the only way to score was chip it and it worked,” said Curless, who was closely marked throughout the game.
“They did a good job marking me,” she added.
“We tried to double-team her so she wouldn’t have space to go to the net,” explained Saulter.
Saulter, Allain, Higgins and junior center back Sierra Snow were standouts for Hermon while energetic junior midfielder Darcy Kanu, Curless and junior defenders Paige Mason and Abby Miller shone for MDI.
“We gave them a good game and we hadn’t done that in the past. We’ve improved so much since last year,” Kanu said.