Brinlee Youngen scores four goals as Mapleton wins eighth in a row
LOUDONVILLE — Even the crisp September air could not cool down the Mapleton girls soccer team when it traveled to Loudonville Monday evening.
Behind the lethal right foot of senior Brinlee Youngen, the Mounties cruised to their eighth straight win in a 5-0 victory.
“It has been a really good season for the Mounties so far,” said coach Carly Stevens. “We have an eight-game winning streak, and this is our seventh shutout on the season.
“The girls have really turned this program around and doing a fantastic job this season.”
Youngen left no doubt of the eventual outcome as she knocked in a pair of goals in under four minutes at the start of the game.
Thee first (38:25) was a rocket into the back of the right corner of the net and her second (36:19) came by way of a breakaway.
With 11:44 left in the first half, she secured a hat trick when her shot from the left side of the pitch bounced off a Redbird defender and the 3-0 halftime lead.
“Brinlee is obviously a very sharp shooter,” added Stevens. “She got off a couple of shots early and put them in and then we had another girl make a shot as well.”
Youngen came into the contest just seven goals short of 100 for her career and her fourth, at the 25:31 mark of the second half, left her just three short of the milestone.
Although not tested often on the night, Mapleton goalkeeper Gracen Beattie kept the game scoreless by making a fine save in the second half (27:40) as Loudonville’s Emma Templeman fired off a rocket from the right side.
“The eight-game winning streak is really exciting,” said Youngen. “It is a combination of both offense and defense. Working together to get the ball up (the field) and we try to get a really good bond together. We want to keep the streak going.”
“That has been the story of our year,” said Loudonville coach Roy Templeman on his team’s offensive struggles. “We’ve played well defensively, but just had our challenges getting the offense going with this young team.
“We get to the right spots now and then and get a goal when we deserve it, but it has been a struggle for the entire team.”
Templeman said the effort and desire are there night in and night out.
“They keep working and keep doing what we ask them to do. We are just hoping that one of these days we put 80 minutes together.”
The Loudonville coach talked about the solid effort from goalkeeper Quinn Norris as the freshman has come up big all season. She knocked away a dozen Mapleton shots on 23 attempts.
“As a freshman, she has played well for us all season,” he said. “She’s very athletic and a good team player. She knows the game well.”
The Mounties had 23 shots on goal to just three for the Redbirds.
Along with Youngen, Stevens had high praise for what all four seniors have done this season. Maggie Hellickson, Caitlyn Vermilya and Beattie comprise the quartet.
“The seniors have really honed in on what I need covered,” said Stevens. “They definitely have provided leadership where needed on all four corners of the diamond.”
This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Girls Soccer: Youngen scores four goals in Mapleton win
