Monday, it was Kate Philbrick’s turn.
Philbrick tapped home the second and third goals of the day for the Greyhounds as they held off Winthrop 3-1 in an MVC tilt.
“She’s a scrapper,” Lisbon coach Julie Petrie said of Philbrick. “We call her the Rhinoceros because she just keeps going and going and going. She’s new, she’s young, and she’s been doing well for us.”
Lisbon (7-1) and Winthrop (3-3-2) met in the Class C state final in 2012, their fourth meeting that season. Both teams have remained strong since that finals appearance, and every year the teams battle it out in close games.
Despite a bench with only one substitute player Monday, Winthrop fired out of the gate and put pressure on Lisbon and keeper Stevie Charest early.
“I was really excited with how the girls came out strong,” Winthrop coach Jessica Merrill said. “That’s kind of been our Achilles heel this year. We’re so young that. We’re still trying to figure out how to finish off in front of the goal. But that first 10 minutes the girls realized, they can play with this team.”
“We could not stop the ball … and we played a bit hesitant,” Petrie said. “We always have that mindset when we come to this field.”
Lisbon turned the tide in a hurry in the 10th minute. Charlotte Mooney redirected a perfect cross from Chase Collier at the right post into the cage on the Greyhounds’ second shot of the game to put the visitors in front 1-0.
“That kind of got us back in the game,” Petrie said. “They’re a good team; they’re quick. They do a lot of things well.”
The goal stabilized the Lisbon midfield, and briefly stopped Winthrop’s attack.
Philbrick made it 2-0 with 1:44 to play in the first half on another tip in front, again on a feed from Collier.
“Chase was an animal today,” Petrie said. “She hustled to the ball. She had her stick on the ground. When you do the little things well, that’s when you can capitalize off of it.”
There would be no quick burst early in the second for the Ramblers to mimic their surge in the opening frame. Instead, it was Lisbon that brought the pressure, pinning the Ramblers in front of keeper Corinna Coulton for much of the frame.
Philbrick struck again, and likely swiped a goal from Collier, with 19:53 to play when she made sure a Collier effort crossed the line behind Coulton. That the three goals all came on bang-bang, pass-and-shoot plays was particularly pleasing for Petrie.
“We’ve been working that a lot, can you tell?” Petrie said. “We were just talking on the bus on the way here about it. We just need to have that game where we’re in the right place at the right time, working on getting tips and having our sticks ready. We’ve been getting opportunities but just not finishing.”
Coulton earned a measure of revenge three minutes later. After Lisbon covered the ball in their own circle, Winthrop coaches summoned Coulton to take the ensuing penalty stroke. She trudged down the field in a half-sprint, settled herself and scored into the top left corner of the cage for the lone Ramblers goal of the game.
“She’s been practicing them for maybe 20 minutes, a half hour after practice every day,” Merrill said. “I had to give her a shot.”
Coulton later stared down a Lisbon stroke as the shot went wide.
Winthrop next hosts Telstar on Friday, while Lisbon plays at Boothbay on Monday.
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