Windham’s field hockey players, keyed by 11 seniors who have played together since the seventh grade, lost their first four games this fall.

Then came a home game against Noble Sept. 14 and a 4-3 double-overtime win and life changed for the better for these Eagles.

The Windham girls kept up a .500 pace since that narrow victory, chalked up enough wins to make the playoffs and found Noble, a seed higher, waiting for them in the first round.

Monday, after two overtime periods, Noble scored on its first try in the “corners” phase of OT and sent the Eagles home in a 2-1 nailbiter.

Allison St. Jean scored the game-winner, keeping the season alive for the eighth-seeded Knights.

Ashley Wentworth had given Noble a 1-0 first-half lead in the game. But Windham sophomore Kelsey Babb tied the game with 19:02 left to play. Windham’s Danielle Wong and Laura Gildart had some good scoring attempts in the second overtime, but both extra periods went scoreless. Windham was then shut out on three tries on corners, setting up Noble’s game winner after a lengthy scramble.

“These girls played hard and we practiced these corners all last week,” said Windham coach Cory Merrill. “We were ready for it.

“I thought they worked hard,” she said. “It’s been a good season for them.

“These girls really found their scoring niche in the later part of the season. That’s what they had been missing.”

Senior captain and top defender Sam Ennis admitted the loss was tough to take – “there are 11 of us who have played since the seventh grade, so it’s even harder,” she said – but she was satisfied her teammates left it all on the field.

“All the parents and the spectators who came to games kept telling us, no matter what the score was, that we were the winners, because we worked so hard,” Ennis said.

She added that the big turnaround this season came because they learned how to play together.

“I think when we got the teamwork going, the goals started coming and everything improved,” Ennis said. “In this game, we had so much confidence coming in. We weren’t cocky or anything, but we were ready to play this game. We deserved it.”

The varsity seniors playing their last game included Ennis, Maegan Shreves, Krissy Varney, Danielle Smith, Amy Harmon, Caitlin Bott, Kayla Sanville, Wong, Gildart, Sam Murchie, and goal keeper Aimee Fisher.

“I’m proud of them,” said Merrill, whose team finished with a 5-10 record. “And I think they should be proud of themselves.”

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