BUCKFIELD — Buckfield had over a week off before its Class D South quarterfinal game against Rangeley, so the Bucks had an ample amount of time to put an offensive game plan into place.
Wanting to move the ball around in the offensive zone early, the plan was executed to perfection and Buckfield defended homefield with a 3-0 victory Tuesday afternoon.
“We had a plan we wanted to execute for the last nine or 10 days,” Buckfield coach Larry Thornton said. “The girls executed the plan and that was to move the ball, be patient and take the opportunities.”
Buckfield attacked relentlessly to start the first half with Molly Bourget, Paige Fogg and Lynn Szabo all creating opportunity after opportunity with great passing and movement.
Rangeley struggled to get the ball over midfield early, which led to the Bucks finding their offensive rhythm early.
Bourget scored just-after the 20-minute mark of the first half when she slipped the ball across the net and into the far-right corner to give Buckfield the early 1-0 lead.
Rangeley’s best chance of the half was with 8:15 left when Buckfield goalkeeper Makenna Blodgett came out of net to stop a ball. Olivia Pye received the clearance for Rangeley and ripped a 30-yard shot just-wide left.
Pye and fellow senior Lauren Eastlack worked hard to gain and keep possession when they could for the Lakers.
“They mean a lot to the soccer program over the last five years,” Rangeley coach Chip Smith said of his seniors. “I had the opportunity to coach them as eighth graders. Olivia gets a lot of the credit with all the girls but Lauren has been the dirt dog of this team. This soccer team has two big shoes to fill going forward.”
With just-under four minutes remaining in the first half, Fogg brought the ball down the right sideline close to the baseline before crossing the ball perfectly into the box and to the head of Bourget, who was able to flick the ball into net for Buckfield’s second goal.
“Paige is the person that crossed it and we’ve practiced that countless times,” Bourget said. “It didn’t work, didn’t work, but I knew that when it was show time we would get it.”
Rangeley struggled to get much offense going in the second half, with Buckfield dominating possession to start.
“Typically when you play Buckfield they’re strong down the middle,” Smith said. “Our game plan was to try to get down the sides but we weren’t really presented with that situation. That’s a good team and they’re used to playing good competition in the Mountain Valley Conference.”
With 25 minutes remaining, Bourget crossed the ball into the front of the net in the near post for an easy tap in by Katy Henderson to put the Bucks up 3-0.
MOUNT VIEW 5, CENTRAL 1: Sage Pound scored twice and added an assist to lead the No. 7 Mustangs to the Class C North quarterfinal victory in Corinth.
Gabby Ravin and Gabby Allen each added a goal and an assist for Mount View (9-6-1) while Hannah Coolen had the other goal. Zoe Mayhew made six saves.
Rylee Speed scored on a penalty kick for No. 2 Central (11-4-0) while Alyssa Day stopped 13 shots.
TRAIP 6, MT. ABRAM 0: The second-seeded Rangers took their first playoff step with an emphatic Class C South quarterfinal win in Kittery.
Kathleen McPherson scored three goals off quick redirections of spot-on crossing passes. Sydney Auclair had a goal and three assists. Julia Durling and Nora Gilbert, part of a talented group of underclass players, scored once each. The defense was sound and poised when infrequently challenged.
The Rangers (13-2) will make their third straight trip to the regional semifinal, hosting No. 14 St. Dominic Academy (5-10-1) on Friday. Traip beat St. Dom’s twice this season.
Mt. Abram finishes its season at 8-5-3.
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