CUMBERLAND

Last fall, Natalie Anderson led Freeport’s field hockey team in scoring with 12 goals.

Thursday afternoon, by halftime of the Falcons’ regular season opener at Greely, Anderson was on pace for 84.

Anderson, a senior, scored three times, including one in the final minute of the first half, to help Freeport build a 4-1 lead, and while the Rangers fought hard in the second half and made things interesting, the Falcons, behind clutch defense and goalkeeping from senior Katelyn Rouleau, went on to a 5-2 victory in the teams’ mutual Western Maine Conference season opener.

Freeport also received goals from senior Kerry Lefebvre and sophomore Ally Randall as it got off to a strong start in a season where the Falcons believe they can be as good as anyone in Class B South.

“We know we can be strong,” said Anderson. “This game proves what we thought.”

Opportunity awaits

Last fall, the Falcons jumped out to a 5-0-1 start and went on to post nine victories, their best in eight seasons, but Freeport’s hope of a deep playoff run was dashed in the quarterfinals, when it was knocked off by Lake Region, 4-0.

“Everybody’s worked really hard in the offseason,” Anderson said. “I remember minutes after we lost that playoff game, people we talking about what they were going to do in the offseason and applying that letdown into positivity.”

“Even at the end of last year after we lost, the girls have been ready,” Freeport coach Marcia Wood said. “They’ve been playing offseason and you can tell they’ve had a stick in their hands all winter.”

Freeport pressured from the get-go and was rewarded 2:05 in when senior Alexa Koenig fired a shot from just outside the circle, which Anderson tipped past Greely sophomore goalie Cassie Ward for a quick 1-0 lead.

“It was amazing to score that fast,” Anderson said. “It was incredible. It picked us up. I just had my stick in the right place.”

Greely settled down and had opportunities to pull even, but junior Megan Beaulieu missed just wide, Rouleau denied a blast by senior Maddy Perfetti, Rouleau made a beautiful kick save on a shot from sophomore Delia Knox and Rouleau saved successive bids from Knox and sophomore Hannah Perfetti.

With 6:24 to go in the half, the Falcons doubled their lead, as Anderson scored out of a scrum off a penalty corner.

“I finished the job, but it was the people around me who picked it up,” Anderson said. “I followed the ball in on that one.”

Morley called timeout, but just 63 seconds later, Freeport struck again, as off another penalty corner, Koenig rifled a shot that Ward stopped with a nice kick save, but Randall was there to bury the rebound to make it 3-0.

“In the past, scoring has been an issue, so to get on the board like that was great,” said Wood, whose Falcons host Fryeburg Academy on Tuesday at 6 p.m. “We have so many girls who can shoot and score. ‘Lex,’ ‘Nat,” Ally. They can’t pinpoint one. We did a nice job moving the ball around. All my forwards are veterans.”

The Rangers appeared to gain a little momentum when Knox set up Hannah Perfetti for a transition goal with 2:56 on the clock, but with just 59 seconds remaining before the break, Anderson completed her hat trick, scoring on a rebound, to make the score 4-1.

“That goal got the momentum back for us,” Anderson said. “The ball popped up and I batted it back down and in. Getting that goal after they scored was amazing.”

“(Natalie) has a lot of heart,” Wood said. “She’s played a lot of field hockey. She’s hungry to get goals. We need her in there with her stick down. She knows where she needs to be.”

Freeport had a 13-9 shots advantage in the first half and got six saves from Rouleau. Ward made seven saves for Greely, but was replaced at the start of the second half by freshman Savanna Harvey.

Greely almost cut the deficit to one with 15:45 on the clock, but in the play of the game, Falcons senior defender Brooke Toothaker saved the day. After Rouleau made a save off the stick of Rangers senior Maria Campbell, Campbell got the rebound and sent the ball past the goalie, but just before it crossed the line, Toothaker swept it away to keep the Freeport lead at two goals.