For top-seeded Cheverus to advance to the Class A South field hockey final, it needed Becca Archer to stay calm – easier said than done – knowing its semifinal against fourth-ranked Sanford had gone through two overtimes and into penalty corners.
Finally, in the fifth round of penalty corners Saturday, Archer redirected a pass from Colleen Slattery into the back of the cage, giving the Stags a 2-1 victory and a berth against Thornton Academy in the regional final Tuesday at Fitzpatrick Stadium.
“We talked about (Archer) being composed in that last set of corners because the first set she wasn’t,” said Coach Amy Ashley. “She was in the right spot at the right time and she made a perfect shot.”
Added Archer: “I was just right place, right time, and I can’t even tell you what I did. I caused a hack the corner before and Coach asked if she could trust me to be a calm shooter. I told her yes.”
The winner came more than two hours after Archer opened the scoring. Just over five minutes into the game, she buried a penalty corner from Sophia Pompeo.
“She played her heart out today,” said Ashley. “She did an awesome job. Any time we need a goal, it seems like Becca is the one coming through. She deserves it. She works very, very hard; loves the game of field hockey.”
The score was 1-0 until 15:59 remained in the second half when Allison L’Heureux scored off a rebound for the Spartans (12-3-1).
Cheverus (14-2) stayed alive in overtime by impressive defense from Slattery, who broke up chances on consecutive penalty corners, one as time expired in the first overtime and another to start the second.
“(Slattery) is our workworse and she doesn’t get a lot of credit,” said Ashley. “I’m so excited for her today to be noticed. She just does everything for us. She’s a defensive player but we ask her to come up on offense.”
Cheverus goalie Kat Kane came up big with a sliding kick-save on a shot that would have won the game in the fourth round of penalty corners.
“It was an open, open look,” said Sanford Coach Diana Walker. “We knew she comes out and we thought all we had to do was just get around her, and just lift it when she goes down. That was a great save.”
Added Ashley: “First year ever playing hockey and you’d never know it. She’s exceeded all expectations. She didn’t even play last game because we switch up our goalies. She hasn’t played for a while but we have the utmost confidence in her and this is why. She’s a big-game player and that save right there, I’ll never forget that.”
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