The Thornton Academy field hockey team has a deep offensive attack and it was on display Monday afternoon.

Center forward Allie Romprey had two goals and an assist, while right wing Libby Pomerleau had a goal and an assist to lead the Golden Trojans to a 4-1 victory over Portland in a Western Class A game at Fitzpatrick Stadium.

You couldn’t fault Portland for double- and triple-teaming Pomerleau, who had 14 goals for the Trojans in 2013. Trouble is, that left plenty of room for others to operate in the middle of the field, and the Trojans (4-2) took full advantage. Thornton had a 21-2 edge in shots on goal and a 7-0 edge in penalty corners on its way to its third straight win.

“By the middle of first half, we started to play a lot better because we were talking more,” Thornton Coach Lori Smith said. “And they definitely get hungry in the circle. They want to score.”

The Trojans’ midfield of Dorina Sirois, Carli Legere, Ashley Houp and Grace Pickering kept Portland (3-3) hemmed in its own end for nearly the whole first half, frantically trying to protect Tara O’Neal, a back who is now Portland’s backup goalie and sweeper Alysha Alling (two saves). O’Neal finished with nine saves before giving way to three-year starter Gianna Gaudet, who had been unavailable to play recently, in the second half. Gaudet made six saves in her return.

“You’ve got to win this game between the 25-yard lines,” Portland Coach Beth Arsenault said. “We didn’t do that today. They were faster, got in behind us. We didn’t mark particularly well and they ended up with some wide open shots. Both of our goalies did a really good job but in the end you’re going to run out of luck when you leave people wide open in the circle.”

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Pomerleau finally broke through 10 minutes in, cutting across the middle to finish a hard run and pass by Legere for a 1-0 lead.

“I just tried to move around, trying to draw (defenders) out and create space,” Pomerleau said. “I just try to help as much as I can.”

In the second half, Houp finished a cross from Pomerleau in the 53rd minute to put the Trojans ahead 2-0.

Two minutes later, Romprey finished a cross from Pomerleau for a 3-0 lead. Six minutes later, she punched in a rebound to make it 4-0.

“It’s important to stay calm and keep one step ahead of the game,” Romprey said. “It’s all about patience and positioning in the circle. Passes weren’t there a lot (for Pomerleau) but she did a great job cutting and opening things up.”

What offense Portland did mount came on the counterattack, led by forwards Gabby Wagabaza and Lauren McIntyre, who scored the Bulldogs’ goal with 13 minutes left in the game. McIntyre knocked a rebound of a shot by Wagabaza past Thornton Academy goalie Isabella Capozzi (one save).

“It felt like every time we had the ball, they doubled us,” Arsenault said.


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