In its opener on the road against highly-regarded Gorham, the Bonny Eagle High field hockey team needed a few minutes to shake off the nerves and get into the flow. Unfortunately, by the time the Scots got going some 10 minutes in, Gorham was already up 2-0. That score ended up being the final.
So in Bonny Eagle’s home opener on Tuesday afternoon, first-year coach Caterina Riitano wanted to make sure her team came out sharp and aggressive.
“I told them to come out stronger, like we did for the second half of the Gorham game,” Riitano said.
The message worked, as the Scots scored twice in the opening 11 minutes and went on to a 3-2 victory over Marshwood (0-2) in Standish.
Peyton Dostie got the Scots on the board 7:33 into the contest, converting a feed from Heather Boutin. Bonny Eagle went up 2-0 less than three minutes later as Nicole DeMidio deflected in a pass from Dostie.
“I told them I wanted them to score right off,” Riitano said. “It took a few minutes to get it in, but we did it right off and that sets the tone of the game.”
Marshwood cut its deficit in half with 13:27 remaining in the first half as Ariel Kaplan scored on a penalty stroke. But the Scots upped their advantage to 3-1 in the second half, scoring with 20:41 remaining as DeMidio rattled the cage for a second time, assisted by Boutin.
Marshwood scored with one second remaining in the game as Sammy Crossman beat the buzzer to account for the 3-2 final.
Bonny Eagle outshot the Hawks 17-16. Marshwood had an 11-10 edge on penalty corners.
Riitano was pleased with the defensive effort, as well.
“We did a lot better on defense, making sure that weak side was dropped more so that we were able to recover and help each other out,” she said.
Bonny Eagle’s Nicole DeMidio works for possession during Tuesday’s field hockey game against Marshwood in Standish. DeMidio scored two goals to help the Scots to a 3-2 win.
Staff photo by Tom Minervino
Bonny Eagle’s Peyton Dostie heads toward the goal during Tuesday’s field hockey game against Marshwood.
Staff photo by Tom Minervino
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