YARMOUTH — Two teams entered Saturday’s Class B state field hockey championship with perfect records.
Eastern champ Nokomis left that way, thanks to freshman Olivia Brown’s tip-in goal with 5:04 remaining that gave the Warriors a 1-0 win against York (17-1) at Yarmouth High.
Additional Photos
“Nothing better than going undefeated and winning states,” Nokomis senior Lindsay Whitney said.
Conversely, there is little more disheartening than being a great team that comes up one win shy.
The Wildcats were such a squad, having roared through most of the season with a high-scoring offense and a defense to match. Brown’s goal was just the third allowed by York.
“We just weren’t able to capitalize on our chances. We had a great season and I’m so proud of my teammates,” said York senior Taylor Simpson as tears wet her cheeks. “I just don’t think this was one of our better games, but every team has that.”
Nokomis (18-0) focused its defensive effort on stopping the Wildcats’ high-scoring tandem of Simpson and freshman midfielder Lily Posternak.
“We seemed to break through a little and then we would either mismanage the ball or they would step up with a tackle,” said York Coach Barb Marois.
While both players impressed, York was shut out for the first time.
“We knew that (Posternak) and (Simpson) were their best players, their highest scorers, so we wanted to keep the ball out of the middle, and if they did have the ball, someone was always on them,” Whitney said.
Nokomis set up its winning play on a penalty corner. The Warriors freed up Taylor Shaw for a hard shot that was stopped by Livy Golini, but Brown got the winning tip on the rebound.
York, which is 1-7 in state finals over the last 10 years, won its only championship in 2008 against Nokomis. The Warriors won a rematch in 2010.
“You know it’s always going to be a good game with York. They’re a phenomenal team,” Nokomis Coach Katie Thompson said. “You know they’re going to come to play and we’re going to come to play and it’s going to be a good match.”
Steve Craig can be reached at 791-6413 or at:
scraig@pressherald.com
Twitter: SteveCCraig
Copy the Story LinkSend questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.