BRUNSWICK — The Messalonskee girls soccer team has had two months to chew on its only loss in the season opener to Camden Hills.
The Eagles have reeled off 15 straight wins since, getting No. 15 on Friday with a 2-0 victory over second-seeded Brunswick in a Class A North semifinal played at Peter Gardner Field.
Sophomore Cloe Sisson scored for the Eagles in the first half while senior Anika Elias added an insurance score late in the second. Third-seeded Messalonskee will face two-time defending state champion Camden Hills in the North final on Wednesday in Rockport. Brunswick finishes at 12-2-2.
The two clubs shared a common loss to Camden Hills — Messalonskee 3-0 and Brunswick 6-0 — coming into the game but hadn’t met in the regular season. The Eagles controlled much of the play if not the scoreboard with a short passing game that often drifted back to goalkeeper Hannah DelGiudice for a reset.
“I like to have a goalie who can play,” Messalonskee coach Chris DelGiudice said. “Playing with 11 players is a lot easier than 10. My big thing from the start of the season has always been patience. You don’t need to force the ball forward. If they get in good defensive shape just turn around and try something new.”
The Eagles launched 12 shots on goal, eight in the first half, to four for the Dragons. Brunswick keeper Aisley Snell (nine saves) made a couple of strong saves early and got some help from the defense in keeping another ball out of the net. Sisson’s goal was an easy one-timer from six feet out after senior Caitlin Parks set her up with 7:16 seconds left in the half.
Parks had already sent a couple of crossing passes in front of the goal with no results but this time she found Sisson after dribbling down the right sideline and turning the corner on a defender.
“As a team we came out and we were passing the ball pretty well, but we couldn’t just get that final push,” Parks said. “After our confidence kept building, I think it just made it a lot easier and I could find gaps in the defense.”
The Eagles did a good job holding high-scoring striker Anna Kousky in check. The senior, who scored over 40 goals this season, was stymied on a couple of potential breakaways, the best by Ella Moore with 15 minutes left to play.
The Eagles again controlled play early in the second half, but the Dragons had one final push and kept the ball in Messalonskee’s end for the better part of five minutes midway through the second half. The surge allowed the Eagles to get a second wind and eventually score.
“We had a couple of good chances to score but that was it,” Brunswick coach Martyn Davison said. “We were flat right from the start. If you don’t come out and put the yards in and be first to the ball, you’re not going to win the game. Credit to Messalonskee, they were first to everything.”
Elias made it 2-0 with her 28th goal of the season with 7:30 left to play.
“We worked it up the field and Elena (Guarino) played a beautiful ball right to my feet so I give all credit to her. We’re all just using each other well,” Elias said.
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