3 min read

AUGUSTA — The Cony girls lacrosse team has been on a roll, winning five straight games since losing by one in the season opener against Mt. Ararat.

Sophomore attacker Katelynn Dutil attributes the winning streak to an increased familiarity amongst teammates, while senior midfielder Abby Morrill says the Rams have focused on closing out close games.

Both of those things were apparent in Cony’s 10-6 win over Brunswick on Thursday. Dutil and Morrill each scored twice, as did freshman attackers Gabby Vachon and Rylin Miller.

“I think the girls just got excited about finding each other and working well together,” Cony coach Gretchen Livingston said. “And it’s super fun when you have six different girls involved in scoring 10 goals, right? That’s a great team effort. And I think that they are really seeing the potential in one another and coming together and using each other’s strengths.”

Both Cony (5-1) and Brunswick (4-4) had a wealthy selection of offensive options as 11 players contributed to the game’s 16 goals. The first eight goals were scored by eight different players. Lauren Labbe led the Dragons with two goals.

Advertisement

How it happened

• Cony maintained a slight edge over Brunswick for most of the first quarter and took a 4-2 lead. A goal by junior Eva Kousky early in the second brought the Dragons within one, but the Rams offense began clicking with seven minutes to go and ripped off four straight goals (two from Miller, Vachon, then Morrill) to give Cony an 8-3.

• Dutil said the team’s on-field communication and situational awareness helped build the five-goal lead. Morrill agreed, adding, “Our defense had some really good stands keeping them out, and then we had some really good passing series to get the ball up the field to the attack.”

• Brunswick didn’t allow Cony to have all the momentum, as Kousky found sophomore Madison Neault with 4.4 seconds left in the second quarter to make the score 8-4 at halftime. Labbe then added an unassisted goal 14 seconds into the third. Coach EmaLeigh Mathy was impressed by the Dragons’ resilience and ability to not just move past certain mistakes, but correct them as well: “Ground balls for us in the beginning were rough. We talked about it, and they were able to change that in the second half.”

• Dutil helped reestablish Cony’s margin with an assist and a goal, before Brunswick’s Kyra Fortier found Layla Hammer for the game’s final goal with two minutes left in the third period. With a 10-6 lead heading into the final quarter, Livingston instructed Cony to maintain control of pace and take the air out of the game with long possessions.

Statistical leaders

• Cony: Katelynn Dutil (two goals, one assist), Abby Morrill (two goals), Gabby Vachon (two goals), Rylin Miller (two goals), Avery Maxim (seven saves).

• Brunswick: Lauren Labbe (two goals), Eva Kousky (one goal, one assist), Maddy Lavinge (eight saves), Evie Hatrick (five saves).

Notable quotes

• “We started out really strong. We played together and fought for the ball, and then in the end they just kind of outran us. We got pretty tired. We were missing a couple people, and we just slowed down and got a little tired and couldn’t keep up. So they outpaced us and were able to put it in the back of the net. We had a lot of shots, but unfortunately, they had a really nice goalie, so the goalie either stopped them or we went pretty wide.” — Brunswick coach EmaLeigh Mathy

• “We look young when you’re looking at (at the roster and see) ninth grade, 10th grade, and even some of those juniors, but they are remembering how they played together last year and bringing it in. So I’m looking forward to a great rest of this year with the defensive unit.” — Cony coach Gretchen Livingston

Cooper Sullivan covers high school and collegiate sports in Brunswick and the surrounding communities. He is from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where he studied at Wake Forest University ('24) and held...

Join the Conversation

Please sign into your CentralMaine.com account to participate in conversations below. If you do not have an account, you can register or subscribe. Questions? Please see our FAQs.