YARMOUTH — After her team had played all season on grass, Lisbon field hockey Coach Julie Petrie figured it would be a good idea to practice at least once on artificial turf, so she brought her Greyhounds to Bowdoin College on Monday afternoon in preparation for their Western Class C semifinal Tuesday against second-seeded Yarmouth.
“It makes the game so much different,” Petrie said of the smoother, faster surface. “But it matches our style of play, I think.”
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Indeed, third-seeded Lisbon took a liking to Yarmouth’s turf Tuesday afternoon, particularly after scoring a pair of goals within five minutes early in the second half of a 2-0 victory.
The Greyhounds (14-2) advanced to Thursday’s regional final – also on turf at Scarborough – against top-seeded Oak Hill, a 4-0 winner over No. 4 North Yarmouth Academy Tuesday afternoon.
Lisbon’s only two losses came against Oak Hill, both by shutout, but the Greyhounds returned the favor 2-1 on penalty corners in the Mountain Valley Conference championship game earlier this month.
Yarmouth (14-2) played without standout midfielder Breanna Morrill, who twisted her knee in practice Monday but suited up and prepared to play Tuesday until reinjuring the knee during pregame warm-ups.
“The second that happened,” said Yarmouth senior Kallie Hutchinson, “I think everyone took a deep breath and was like, ‘New game.’ ”
Yarmouth Coach Mandy Lewis tinkered with her lineup and positioning in hopes of overcoming the loss of Morrill, “but it was a struggle not having her there,” Lewis said. “We knew that would be a challenge.”
Yarmouth had its chances early – with four penalty corners in the first half to only one for Lisbon – and again in the final 10 minutes of the game, with Hutchinson and fellow senior Fiona Clarke both testing Lisbon goalie Victoria Swan.
Swan, starting for only the third game this fall, was equal to the task. She turned away all eight shots on goal.
“She had some amazing saves,” Hutchinson said. “We did have chances. I think that’s why we aren’t as disappointed. It’s not like they dominated the game.”
No, but the Greyhounds clearly had the upper hand in the middle stages of the contest and wound up with 17 shots overall and added six more penalty corners in the second half. One of those paid off a little more than five minutes after intermission when Courtney Lawrence, with an assist from Arianna Kahler, scored after Yarmouth goalie Tori Messina made the initial save.
“The goalie stopped it and it went right to me,” Lawrence said. “I just got my stick really low and hit it right in.”
Not quite five minutes later, sophomore Kate Philbrick cleaned up another rebound, this after Messina had turned aside a shot by Kahler, to make it 2-0.
“In the first half we were carrying it a lot,” Philbrick said. “We weren’t passing it as much and crossing in the circle. When we cross in the circle, we score a lot.”
Lawrence and Kahler are two of nine Lisbon seniors. Hutchinson, Clarke and classmate Meaghan Gorman, who plays defense, are Yarmouth’s only seniors.
“We have a lot of young talent,” Lewis said. “We’re excited to see what’s to come.”
Glenn Jordan can be contacted at 791-6425 or at:
Gjordan@pressherald.com
Twitter: GlennJordanPPH
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