SANFORD — The Sanford Spartans broke open a scoreless game with a pair of second-half goals as they picked up a 2-0 victory over visiting Bonny Eagle on Monday.
During the first half, the two teams would battle but neither group would find the back of the net.
“A lot of our games have been like this. We’ve had the chances to score and we just can’t put it in the net. I mean we’ll put it at the goalie but we just can’t hit those spaces,” said Sanford head coach Diana Walker.
With one minute left in the first half, the Scots (2-5) had a chance to take the lead. They earned a penalty corner and the ball rolled right across the net, ready to be poked in but a Spartan defender rammed the ball out of the danger zone and made sure the game would go into halftime with zeros on the scoreboard
“We were lucky. That ball went right across the goal and I thought for sure it was going to get poked in but my defensive player came through with a nice defensive save and the goalie also pushed out a couple of them,” said Walker. “Bonny Eagle played a great game against us. They were very competitive. They were also relentless. We were just able to beat them to the ball a few more times.”
The Spartans (3-3) scored their first goal four minutes into the second half. The 1-0 score was created by Alysha Simpson.
With 12:21 left in the second half, Ruby LaChance scored the second goal for the Spartans. When the Spartans earned a corner, LaChance waited at the top of the circle to wham the ball into the back of the net.
“The second goal is something we practice. She does that over and over again and lately she’s either been whiffing it or she’s been undercutting it and it’s been going up in the air but tonight she just hit just the way she’s been practicing it and it was nice,” Walker said.
The practice paid off.
“That was my first goal of the season. It was a rush,” said LaChance.
Bonny Eagle goalie Chloe Owen made six saves. Sanford goalie Brittany Cortois made 12 saves in the win.
Windham will host Sanford on Wednesday.
— Sports Writer Sienna Barstow can be reached at sbarstow@journaltribune.com or at 282-1535 ext. 322. Follow the Journal Tribune Sports Department on Twitter @JournalTsports.