Maine news, sports, weather from Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram, Portland, Maine

September 20, 2012

Fryeburg keeps on winning

The Raiders reach 7-0 in field hockey by pulling away from Yarmouth for a 3-0 victory.

By STEVE CRAIG Staff Writer

YARMOUTH - Coach Dede Frost knows that Fryeburg Academy's spotless field hockey record in Western Class B means there's a bull's-eye on her team.

"Everybody is out there looking for those points," said Frost. "Obviously it makes teams try all the more."

Yarmouth was the team looking to bag the trophy upset Wednesday, but Fryeburg used second-half goals by Ellen Bacchiocchi and Christina DiPietro to earn a 3-0 victory.

"I think we did have that opportunity," Yarmouth Coach Mandy Lewis said. "We saw some good things. Our skills are definitely improving but we had a hard time finishing."

Yarmouth (4-3) will have to look to future games for a big Heal points haul.

Bacchiocchi scored with 21:46 to play for a 2-0 lead, not long after Callie Hutchinson of Yarmouth blasted a penalty corner shot just wide of the Fryeburg cage guarded by Sage Antolin (4 saves).

"It definitely gave us a mental edge," Bacchiocchi said of her goal. "We were off our game a little bit today. We just weren't clicking as a team completely."

A little less than four minutes later, DiPietro banged in her goal past Yarmouth keeper Nicole Hickey (5 saves). Positioned near the right post, DiPietro finished off a well-executed rush when the ball caromed off Hickey's pads. Twice this season DiPietro has scored three goals in a game.

"In the second half we began to pass the ball well," Frost said. "One-touch passing instead of carrying the ball too much. We are a good passing team. We pass from wing to wing. We really like to take advantage of the whole field."

Skye Dole scored Fryeburg's first goal with 10:21 left in the first half -- her seventh goal in the past five games.

Especially in the first half, Yarmouth showed it could play in the middle of the field with Fryeburg (7-0). The Clippers' best chance came late in the half when two players rushed the net but when the play slowed, defender Makayla Frost was able to recover and break it up.

"I'm pleasantly surprised with how well the season's gone," Frost said. "The kids have worked hard. They've earned every win. This season there has not been one game that could not have been either team's game. It's that close this year."

Lewis said her team needs to continue to improve its finishing around the net and being mentally strong enough not to let down after an opponent scores.

"We either win games or lose by more than one goal," Lewis said. "We're working on mental toughness when we're down."

Staff Writer Steve Craig can be contacted at 791-6413 or at:

scraig@mainetoday.com

 

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