BRUNSWICK — By the luck of a coin toss, the Mt. Ararat High School field hockey team earned the right to chose to possess the ball first, as the Eagles and their “Battle of the Bridge” rival Brunswick slipped into 7-on-7 overtime.
Speedy Mt. Ararat junior forward Wyley Fitzpatrick knew what to do. She carried the ball all the way into the Dragon zone, and after a battle with the Brunswick defense, helped earn her team two penalty corners.
The second corner was golden, as Fitzpatrick tipped a shot into the back of the cage to give the Eagles a hard-fought 1-0 win at Bowdoin College’s Ryan Field on Tuesday.
Mt. Ararat finished the regular season with three straight shut-out wins for a 9-5 record. The Eagles will await the final Heal Point Standings in Class A North and face a quarterfinal next week.
But, Eagles coach Krista Chase praised the work of Karin Paquin’s Dragons, who outshot Mt. Ararat by a 9-4 count and played the aggressor throughout.
“Brunswick came to play and played with so much heart. Momentum went their way. They came ready to play, and that is a testament to the growth of their program. This game could have gone either way,” Chase said.
“It was an amazing game, beautiful, and exactly the way that we wanted them to play,” said Paquin after her Dragons finished with a 5-9 record and will miss out on the postseason despite a solid season. “They stayed strong through the whole game. I couldn’t have asked for anything more. It always comes down to one goal when we play Mt. Ararat.”
But the short 7-on-7 overtime went the Eagles way, led by Fitzpatrick, whose goal was assisted by Holly Temple and Brea Holtet.
“It is pure luck. Everybody wants possession,” said Chase. “I told Wyley to not pass the ball, which killed us most of the game. Wyley is a great ball handler and play-maker, and it turned into a classic 7-v-7 overtime.”
Of the goal, Fitzpatrick praised her forward linemates.
“It was Holly hitting it off the corner and I was there to tip it in, and Brea was right there. We needed that extra push, and that possession is what got us the goal,” Fitzpatrick said.
Back and forth
Playing on the quick Ryan Field turf, both teams took time to adjust to the speed of play, with several balls rolling out of bounds.
Mt. Ararat produced a pair of quality chances early, with Abby Hagan having a shot stopped by Brunswick senior goaltender Ainsley Harrower (three saves).
After a timeout, Brunswick took over. The Dragon frontline of Lauren Jacobs, Shea Sullivan, Maddie Wayne and Kelsey Sullivan had the Eagles on their heels, forcing Mt. Ararat goaltender Emma Lapreziosa to make several quality saves.
“They were really fast and their defense was good at hitting the ball up to their forwards,” said Fitzpatrick after her Eagles were outshot 6-2 in the first half.
Throughout the season, Chase has split time in the net between Lapreziosa and Lily Schenk. But on Tuesday, she decided to stay with Lapreziosa after her six-save first half.
“I have two equally strong goalies with different strengths,” said Chase. “When one has the momentum in a game that is important, just like every Brunswick-Mt. Ararat game, you keep who has the momentum in.”
Lapreziosa made three more big stops in the second half as Brunswick continued to press for the game’s first goal. Several Dragon shots slipped inches wide of the Mt. Ararat cage.
However, the game moved into overtime, and Fitzpatrick and company made quick work, with the goal coming just 1:04 into the 7-on-7 session.
Paquin watched seven seniors — Maggie Folsom, Shea Sullivan, Lea Scrapchansky, Erin Coughlin, Rosie White, Eliza Rudalevige and Harrower — play their final field hockey game in a Brunswick uniform. Most were four-year starters, taking a program and molding it into the competitive model of today.
“The big thing for us and for them is that this is the sixth year of fundamentals and it is starting to show in the younger players coming up. That means a lot for the program. We get better and they get better. You just have to keep climbing and getting better,” Paquin said.
For Chase and her Eagles, now comes some time to prepare for the postseason after a season full of close games and hard battles.
“Now, I find a way to balance rest,” Chase said. “We have had some exhausting games. Every game has been a battle. They are tired. So it is a balance of getting that rest and working on fundamentals every day. We go back to the basics and keep working. That is what wins games in the long run.”
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