TOPSHAM

Brunswick’s Lauren Grocholl had more than her share of scoring chances in her field hockey team’s contest with rival Mt. Ararat on Saturday. In all, the sophomore fired 10 shots on Eagles netminder Haley Frizzle, only to come up empty as the scoreless contest slipped into the final minute of regulation.

Grocholl earned one more chance, but instead of shooting, she fed teammate Hannah Escoe for the game-winning goal with 47.4-seconds remaining for a 1-0 Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference win.

The Dragons are 1-6, with a visit to Messalonskee slated for Tuesday (6:30 p.m.), while Mt. Ararat showed significant improvement but fell to 0-7 and visits Edward Little on Tuesday at 4 p.m.

“That is the goal we practice every day at practice, and today it was just perfect,” said emotional Brunswick coach Karin Paquin. “I know they have it in them. We are still a young team with 18 sophomores. They are developing their skills and it is about developing the ability to know where your teammate are. They relied on their teammates and their passing lanes today.”

Though this was a tough loss for Mt. Ararat, head coach Krista Chase was pleased with her team’s effort.

“We have learned how to play with each other and work with each other,” said Chase.

Brunswick pressure

There was little on the offensive front throughout the first 29 minutes of the opening half. Escoe had a nice chance kicked out by Mt. Ararat goaltender Haley Frizzle, while Brunswick goaltender Jordan Van Savage (five saves) turned aside a hard shot from Alyssa Curit.

The Dragons took momentum to the half off of a strong finish to the opening frame. Grocholl exploited the left side of the Eagles’ defense and let loose four shots in the final minute, with Frizzle keeping the Dragons off the board.

“We all circled up and were happy that we had shut them out in the first half, and we just wanted to go for it in the second half,” said Grocholl. “We had a ton of spirit today.”

That momentum carried over to the early stages of the second half, with Grocholl getting free several times from her left wing position. Frizzle continued to frustrate the Dragons, making nine second-half saves.

“We played the powerhouses early, and Haley faced a ton of shots and that is going to make her better,” said Chase. “I have declared this ‘the year of growth,’ and every day they show up and we work on those fundamentals. It will come together.”

Mt. Ararat turned up the heat, led by all-over-the-field Maddie Alexander. She set up teammate Eva Jerome with 17:15 remaining, and her work in front of the Brunswick goal led to five penalty corners for the Eagles in the second period.

“We came back stronger because we really wanted to win, and we worked hard,” said Alexander. “Today was a good game even though we lost. I hope that we keep working hard and together. We want to win some games, and we have plenty more games to go. I know we can do it.”

“We had great opportunities to get the ball in the cage, and we just haven’t gotten the scoring,” said Chase. “Maddie is one of the top players in the state, and I would put her up against anybody. We had several players who had really good games today.”

As the time ticked under one minute left in regulation, Brunswick broke out of its defensive zone. Alexis Schneiderat crossed midfield and fed a perfect lead pass to Grocholl. She sprinted toward the Mt. Ararat cage, pulled a defender to her, faked a shot and slipped a pass to Escoe, whose tip found the right side of the cage for the game-winning goal.

“It took a lot of effort. It was a really good game and we were able to pull it out,” said Escoe. “This is the best feeling in the world.”

Mt. Ararat tried to respond, but Brunswick defender Eric Marc-Aurele cleared the ball out of danger as the time ticked away.

Brunswick finished with a 16-5 edge in shots, and held a slight 6-5 advantage in penalty corners.

Frizzle finished with 15 saves.

Brunswick 1,
Mt. Ararat 0

At Topsham
Brunswick — 0 1 — 1
Mt. Ararat — 0 0 — 0
Goal — (B) Hannah Escoe.
Assist — (B) Lauren Grocholl.
Shots — Brunswick 16, Mt. Ararat 5.
Saves — (B) Jordan Van Savage 5;
(MtA) Haley Frizzle 15.
Penalty corners — Brunswick 6, Mt.
Ararat 5.
Records — Brunswick 1-6, Mt. Ararat 0-7.
Up next for the Dragons — Tuesday vs.
Messalonskee, Thomas College, 6:30
p.m..
Up next for the Eagles — Tuesday at
Edward Little, 4 p.m.

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