Barb Marois, the field hockey coach at York High, says she likes the state of her program. And why not?
The Wildcats have become the standard bearers in Western Class B, winning five of the last six regional championships. “I’ve been lucky to have a lot of consistency with the girls stepping up and stepping in,” she said. “Either we’ve had a good group of players returning each year or a good group of young players coming in.”
The top-ranked Wildcats (15-1) will go for another regional championship today when they play third-ranked Greely (12-4) at 3:30 p.m., starting a championship tripleheader at Scarborough High’s turf field.
Top-ranked Telstar (15-1) will play third-ranked North Yarmouth Academy, the two-time defending regional champ, for the Class C championship at 5:30 p.m.
Fourth-ranked Cheverus (12-4) will play seventh-ranked Bonny Eagle (11-5) in the Western Class A championship game at 7:30 p.m.
The Eastern Maine finals will be played at Hampden Academy, with the winners advancing to Saturday’s state championship games at the University of Maine.
If anything is certain, it’s that nothing is certain in these championship games.
“I think this season has shown it’s anybody’s game on any given day,” said Greely Coach Kristina Lane Prescott. “You play with a lot of heart and a lot of dedication it can go either way.”
Greely lost twice to York in the regular season, 3-0 and 1-0 (in overtime), but neither coach thinks that matters. “Any time you’re in the tournament, you forget about what happened in the regular season,” said Marois.
Both teams are well-balanced offensively and feature talented center midfielders: Hannah Keating of York, a finalist for Miss Maine Field Hockey, and Jackie Andrews of Greely, the only goal scorer in Saturday’s 1-0 semifinal win at Leavitt.
And both defenses are playing well. Greely has won three of its last four games by a 1-0 score. Seven of York’s last eight wins have been by shutouts.
IN CLASS A, Cheverus is going for its first regional crown, while Bonny Eagle is looking to get back to the state final for the first time since 2005.
The teams didn’t play in the regular season, and that’s all right with Cheverus Coach Amy McMullin. “Sometimes that’s better,” she said. “You don’t have any preconceived judgements.”
Both teams come in off upset victories. The Scots have beaten No. 2 Westbrook and No. 3 Thornton Academy, both games going into overtime. Cheverus knocked off defending state champion Scarborough 2-1 in the semifinals on a late Brooke Flaherty goal.
Flaherty has only three goals this season, but all are big ones. She scored in overtime against Marshwood in the regular season, got the tying goal just before halftime in the quarterfinals against Kennebunk, and had the winner Saturday against Scarborough.
“It’s nice to have other girls step up,” said McMullin. “Other teams would be crazy not to put players on Chuck.”
That would be Emily Sawchuck, who has a booming drive and is the Stags’ most dangerous scorer. The Scots have some dangerous scorers themselves in Peyton Dostie and Nicole DeMidio, who had the overtime winner on Saturday.
Both teams feature talented goalies. Cindy Clark of Cheverus is coming off her best game of the season. Bonny Eagle’s Rebecca Coney has been impressive in the playoffs.
THE CLASS C game is a rematch of last year’s regional final, won by NYA, 2-1. The Panthers may have an edge in that the game is being played on artificial turf. NYA plays and practices on a turf field.
“It’s very good for us,” said NYA Coach Julia Sterling. “There’s something about the younger kids feeling more comfortable.”
Gail Wight, the long-time Telstar coach, said it will take her players a little time to adjust to the surface, but that the Rebels aren’t totally unfamiliar with artificial surfaces. Twice this year they’ve been on the surface at nearby Gould Academy.
“It’s a totally different game on turf,” said Wight. “But as long as you keep your mind in it, it’s still the same game. The strategy’s the same. The communication is the same.”
NYA has some big-time scorers in Katherine Millett and Kylie Dalbec. Telstar is led by seniors Katie Sumner and Kayla Merrill.
Staff Writer Mike Lowe can be contacted at 791-6422 or at: mlowe@pressherald.com
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