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BRUNSWICK — It doesn’t matter if the opposing team is in Class A or Class B – the Cape Elizabeth girls soccer team plays well against anyone.
Class B Cape Elizabeth proved that Friday, dominating Class A Brunswick at both ends of the pitch to earn a 5-0 victory.
“I think the class thing is a little funny,” Noelle Mallory said. “I don’t know. I mean, we know, and our team knows, that we are good enough to beat any division, any class.”
Cape Elizabeth (3-0) used its size, speed and tenacity to control possession, take advantage of offensive chances and disrupt any counterattacks from Brunswick (2-1). Four players scored, including Mallory, a senior forward who had two first-half goals. Her sister Alexa, a freshman forward, scored in the second half and assisted on another goal.
“We came here last year, had a tough game, and I think we wanted to come in today and have a better performance this year,” said Cape Elizabeth coach Branden Noltkamper, whose team lost 3-1 at Brunswick last season. “And you know, they were great. From the first minute, all the way to the end. I couldn’t be happier for these guys.”
Noelle Mallory started the scoring less than four minutes into the game. Noltkamper described the back-to-back WMC Player of the Year as a tone-setter, adding that the early goal seemed to calm any lingering nerves the Capers may have had about the interclass matchup.
Cape Elizabeth took six corner kicks and four shots on goal before Brunswick puts its first shot on net in the 28th minute.
Shortly after, also in the 28th minute, Noelle Mallory scored her second goal. She outran the defense to secure a booming pass from the backline and nonchalantly sent the ball into the back of the net after a 1-on-1 situation with first-time senior goalie Gillian Countway (seven saves).
“It’s not (just) the goal scorer, it’s the entire team and how we got the ball up to me, how we played the ball around the back,” Mallory said. “We talk, once again, a lot about setting a tone, and I think for our team, a lot of times that comes from scoring early and kind of showing what we have in store.”
Ten minutes after halftime, Alexa Mallory extended the lead to 3-0. She kept pushing the offense in the 56th minute, as the Capers quickly worked the ball upfield and the freshman found senior forward Hailey Gorman in stride on the right side for a 4-0 lead.
Sophomore midfielder Haisel McGeachey scored the game’s final goal with 15:27 to go on a free kick from about 25 yards.
The Capers finished with 12 shots on goal, compared to the Dragons’ two. Kelsie Law saved both of those shots for the shutout.
“I always like to play teams that are better than us, and that’s an incredible team,” Brunswick coach Kevin Bachman said. “Incredibly coached team, and they have a ton of skill. Ton of skill, a lot of size, a lot of speed. They do very well with the ball, very technical. I don’t think we’re going to see a team like that in our division, maybe Bangor, maybe, but beyond that, I don’t think so. But I do like playing games like that. I don’t like losing. I hate losing, but still, I think it’s good for the girls to see that and be a part of that.”
