The Brunswick girls’ soccer team practices on Bowdoin College’s turf fields in preparation for Tuesday’s game at Mt. Ararat. Cooper Sullivan/The Times Record

Bragging rights and Heal points are on the line for just about every high school soccer match, but when Brunswick and Mt. Ararat face off on the pitch Tuesday night, they are worth even more.

Tuesday night marks the first Battle of the Bridge showdown for the two programs, and players and coaches alike are aware of what’s at stake in Topsham. Yet, neither the Dragons or Eagles say they feel any need to change their approach.

“We’ll go out and put the same effort into every game, no matter who the team is,” Mt. Ararat girls soccer defender/goalkeeper Cali Pomerleau said. “Whether it’s Messalonskee, Camden Hills, Bangor, it doesn’t matter. We just try to play our game, no matter what. We’re not going to slow down for anybody.”

The boys’ game will kick off at 5:15 p.m. at Stadium Field, while the girls’ game will follow, around 7:15.

For Pomerleau and the rest of the Mt. Ararat girls’ team, that means maintaining a spacious but fast-paced attack and a physical high-press defense from opening kick to the final whistle. Although they have dropped two straight matches, the strategy has worked for the Eagles, who sit at 5-2 with 34 goals scored and eight goals allowed. Those numbers are only bested in Class A North by Bangor (48 scored, 6 allowed) and Camden Hills (51 scored, 5 allowed), the last two teams Mt. Ararat has faced.

Across the Androscoggin, the Brunswick girls started the season 2-0, but have since gone 1-3-1.

After a Sept. 19 loss to Camden Hills, first-year head coach Kevin Bachman acknowledged that his team was still trying to get comfortable in a new system, one that emphasized quality possessions and tactical passes through the midfield over the “boom ball.”

Two weeks later, Brunswick is still working on fitting into the system. Players believe they have improved, but with two starters out of Tuesday’s game with leg injuries (Ella Wilby and Molly Tefft), the game plan is still being adjusted.

“I always tell the girls, we’ll play with who we have and see what happens,” Bachman said. “We’ll keep working on playing soccer.”

Both squads are familiar with each other’s styles, with most players having played with or against one another throughout youth soccer. Mt. Ararat captain Islah Godo said she knows the tendencies of Brunswick captain Lexi Morin, and vice versa. Godo’s head coach, Kevin Flaherty, calls the familiarity a double-edged sword.

“The Xs and Os sometimes go out the door in those type of games because the emotion is there,” Flaherty said. “But it’s really who’s going to come down to executing what they do, (having) composure on the ball and doing what their system requires.”

Mt. Ararat boys’ soccer head coach Jack Rioux watches his team compete in drills during a preseason practice. Cooper Sullivan/The Times Record

Members of the Brunswick and Mt. Ararat boys’ programs agree.

“I think we just have to play our game whenever we come out on the field,’ Brunswick captain Judah Greenwald said. “I think that sometimes we get too caught up in worrying about what the other team’s plan is, and we kind of sit back and wait for them. I think that we have to go out and play our game. That’s what’s been working for us.”

When asked to describe the Brunswick his steam’s style of play, Coach Mark Roma called it “erratic.”

A slow start offensively and defensively forced Roma to employ three different formations and make considerable changes to the starting lineup. The tinkering has worked and allowed the relatively young team to win four of its last five games, with an average of six goals scored each contest. Heading into the Battle of the Bridge, the Dragons are 5-3.

“The last couple games, the people are starting to get more comfortable, and we’re a little more defensively sound, so it gives the offense a little bit more time to figure stuff out, and we don’t have to capitalize on every single opportunity,” Roma said.

Mt. Ararat (5-2) has won three straight, including a win over the previously unbeaten Camden Hills on Saturday (a game which Roma attended). The Eagles are also known for their long throw-ins that can get the ball from midfield into the box. Since their season-opening loss to Class A defending champion Lewiston, there is an increased understanding about what it takes to beat tough opponents.

“We’re going to play to our strengths, and (Roma) knows what those are,” MTA Coach Jack Rioux said. “They’re going to play to their strengths, and we know what they are. We’re just going to see who goes out there. Generally, it comes down to an individual making a great play, or it could be, all of a sudden, one team makes one mistake, and the other team capitalizes on it, stuff like that. I don’t think we want to overthink it, because that will lead to more mistakes.”