Winning never gets tired, especially when it involves championships.

The York High field hockey team won its third consecutive regional championship Tuesday night and 10th in 12 years, defeating Leavitt 3-1 for the Class B South title at Fitzpatrick Stadium.

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Catherine Marcoulier, left, and Devon Datsis celebrate with their teammates after York beat Leavitt 3-1 in the Class B South field hockey championship game Tuesday at Fitzpatrick Stadium in Portland. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer

In winning its 35th consecutive game, York improved to 17-0 this season and will defend its state title at 2 p.m. Saturday against Winslow at the University of Maine in Orono.

York scored two goals in the first 14:46. Lily Posternak and Ali Jones connected off penalty corners.

“That was the goal,” said Barb Marois, the former U.S. Olympic field hockey player who coaches York. “Intensity right off the bat. I think it was important for us to set the tone and establish an intensity to our game. Sometimes over the course of the season we didn’t do that.

“Obviously now it’s more important than ever to do that.”

And this is the time of year for big players to step up.

The Wildcats got goals from their Big Three: Posternak (a junior midfielder who has committed to play at Duke University), Jones and Devon Datsis, who got the clinching goal with 9:26 remaining on a blast from the right.

Leavitt Coach Wanda Ward-MacLean knew about Posternak but said this game showed how potent York is.

“I mean, you can’t just concentrate on Posternak,” she said. “You’ve got to watch the others, the Datsis kid, the Jones kid on the other side. They’ve got a lot of dangerous weapons.”

The Wildcats controlled much of the game, getting 24 penalty corners to three for Leavitt. York outshot the Hornets, 11-1.

“We had a good amount of opportunities,” said Marois. “We could have probably capitalized on a few more of them but fortunately three was enough tonight.”

Leavitt recovered from its slow start to trail only 2-1 when Alana Hartford’s shot deflected in off a defender with 6:57 left in the first half. It stayed that way – with Leavitt getting a couple of close chances to tie it – until Datsis regained the momentum for the Wildcats.

“This is incredible,” said Posternak. “This is what we’ve been working for since preseason. We all wanted this so bad. I think you could see that today.”

Indeed you could. York pushed hard, not allowing Leavitt into its offensive circle until less than 10 minutes remained in the first half.

Meanwhile the Wildcats swarmed Leavitt sophomore goalie Hailey DeMascio, who made several point-blank stops early on.

But on York’s third penalty corner, Isabel Bretz inserted the ball from the left of the goal to Posternak just outside the circle. She tapped the ball back in and unleashed a low hard drive through a screen just inside the left post for a 1-0 lead 6:26 in.

York kept the pressure on and DeMascio had a couple more saves.

But on York’s sixth penalty corner, Bretz inserted the ball to Datsis at the top of the circle. She passed to Jones at the right post and Jones flipped a high shot in for a 2-0 lead with 15:14 left in the first half.

“I don’t think we started like that in a long time,” said Posternak.

“They played really well the first 10 minutes, really, really well, and we were back on our heels,” said Ward-MacLean. “Once we settled in, it was a good game.”

Hartford’s goal swung the momentum but York’s defense, paced by Allie Lawlor and Jordan Gallant, kept the Hornets from tying the game.

“I don’t think it gets tired,” said Datsis, clutching the championship plaque. “It only gets more exciting. You can never get too used to winning.”

Mike Lowe can be contacted at 791-6422 or at:

mlowe@pressherald.com

Twitter: MikeLowePPH

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