SOUTH CHINA — Two words best described the Waterville girls soccer team in its 2-0 victory over Erskine on Friday afternoon.
Patient and efficient.
The Purple Panthers didn’t have the most time of possession, nor did they take the most shots. But they made the most of the opportunities they had, with Paige St. Pierre pulling off the two goals it would take to leave with the Class B victorious.
Now 11-1-0, Waterville takes over the No. 1 spot in the Class B North standings.
“We work very well together, we’re all a really close-knit team,” St. Pierre said. “I think when we know we need to get something done, we just work our hardest to get it there.”
Erskine — which made the move to Class B South this season — is 9-2-1 and well on the way to a postseason berth.
The Eagles held possession for most of the first half, showing short, crisp passes while turning away the Panther attack multiple times on defense. Midway through the half, however, St. Pierre found a loose ball in front of the Erskine net, and managed to kick a floater over the head of Eagles goalkeeper Taylor Shute for the goal and 1-0 lead, where it remained until halftime.
Just three minutes into the second half, St. Pierre received an excellent leading pass from Lindsay Given to help give her the room for a breakaway, nailing the shot past Shute for the final 2-0 score.
“Lindsay carried it a little, she made a perfect through-pass, and I just kind of took it. (Shute) came out and I tried to get it off as quick as I could.”
The Eagles kept possession for the rest of the match, with multiple opportunities to score, the closest coming on a Mackenzie Roderick kick off a corner that was turned away by the Waterville defense. Waterville goalie Jacie Richard had four saves.
“I feel the girls put in a great effort,” Erskine coach Mike Falla said. “I feel that game could have gone either way. A couple breaks either way, a bounce either way, and that’s got a whole different outcome. I think we showed good pressure going forward. (Waterville) is a strong team in the back. (Waterville coach Mark Serdjenian) had a lot of players in the back and breaking them down in the back is the key to that team. We didn’t have the answer today.”
Serdjenian was proud of Waterville’s composure, not only through the match, but a recent tough stretch of the schedule.
“We kept our composure as the second half went along,” Serdjenian said. “I told the girls, I haven’t really used the word ‘grit’ this season, but over time, I think that’s become a defining (word) for us. We have a break now, we’ve had seven or eight tough games, and came out of it quite well. I’m pleased, this is a hard-working group.”
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
