BATH

Emily Martin expects a lot from herself. Each time the Morse High School girls soccer sophomore takes to the pitch, the pressures to put the ball into the net are there, no matter if she is being marked by one, two or even three defenders.

On Tuesday in a Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference matchup with Mt. Ararat at McMann Field, Martin found her rhythm, tallying four goals as the Shipbuilders earned a 5-0 win.

Morse is 7-2-1 on the season heading into Thursday’s matchup at Maranacook at 3:30 p.m.

On a crisp and clear night, Martin took a pass and boomed a left-footed shot into the net with 17:36 left until halftime. There was a lot more to come.

“I always set my standards really high,” said Martin, who added three straight second-half goals on her way to a four-goal game. “My team really set me up tonight.”

“Tonight I think our back folks gave some good feeds and sent Emily off for some good opportunities, and she never gives up,” said Morse coach Steve Boyce.

“You have to run with her and help has to come,” agreed Mt. Ararat coach Chad Kirk after his Eagles fell to 3-5-1.

The game had the look of being a tight affair, with both the Eagles and Shipbuilders standing tall on defense. Shots that managed to slip through were gobbled up by the goaltenders, with Morse’s Marissa Parks and Mt. Ararat’s Zoe Stilphen standing tall.

“I thought we possessed the ball pretty good,” said Kirk, whose Eagles face Lewiston on Friday (at Bates College) and Saturday (at Topsham).

The first solid scoring chance took place when Ella Martin chipped a pass to Emily Martin, who sprinted past the Eagles defense before launching a shot past the dive of Stilphen and into the right side of the net for a 1-0 Morse lead.

“We all just really worked well together and had that extra step to finish it,” said the sophomore. “We keep getting better every day.”

The one-goal Morse lead turned into a 2-0 edge with 29 seconds left until halftime when Sierra Wallace curled a corner kick clean into the cage. It was a big goal just before the break.

“It gave us the confidence that all we had to do was play our game and good things will happen,” said Boyce of Wallace’s goal.

Second half

Down by two, Kirk changed his lineup, going with three forwards in the hopes of chipping away at the Morse lead. The Eagles possessed the ball most of the first 10 minutes, with Parks making saves on Ryley Leech and Eliza Libby.

“We were doing a lot of things right,” said Kirk.

However it was Morse that the found all-important third goal. Wallace sent a long pass to a sprinting Emily Martin, who slipped a shot inside the near post for a 3-0 lead with 28:06 remaining.

Wallace again assisted on Emily Martin’s third goal, this one coming with 23:56 left. The sophomore arrived at the ball just before Stilphen, with her header bounding into the vacated cage.

“We did well tonight and it was fun to watch, where everything just connected,” said Boyce. “From the back to the front and front to the back, we did well. That is the second straight game that Emily has headed the ball over the goalie. She had a great game.”

With 12:44 left, Dory Kulis fed Emily Martin for goal No. 4, finishing off Morse’s 5-0 win.

Parks had 12 saves for her second shutout of the season. For the Eagles, Stilphen turned aside six shots, while Abby Sirois made six saves in relief. Morse held a 20-12 shot advantage, while the Eagles held a 3-2 edge in corner kicks.

Morse 5, Mt. Ararat 0

At McMann Field in Bath

Goals — (Mo) Emily Martin 4, Sierra Wallace. Assists — (Mo) Ella Martin, Sierra Wallace 2, Dory Kulis. Shots — Morse 20, Mt. Ararat 12. Saves — (MtA) Zoe Stilphen 6, Abby Sirois 6; (Mo) Marissa Parks 12. Corner kicks — Mt. Ararat 3, Morse 2. Records — Morse 7-2-1, Mt. Ararat 3-5-1. Up next for the Eagles — Friday vs. Lewiston at Bates College, 3:30 p.m. Up next for the Shipbuilders — Tuesday at Maranacook, 3:30 p.m.