WESTBROOK — There are goals, and then there are momentum goals.

Westbrook High’s field hockey team scored two of the latter Saturday afternoon and rode them to an impressive 5-0 victory over Scarborough in the Class A South semifinals. The second-ranked Blazes got a goal just 61 seconds into the game and one with 64 seconds left in the first half, in each instance gaining a large dose of confidence and momentum.

The defending regional champion Blazes (14-1-1) will play Biddeford in a regional final on Tuesday at Biddeford’s Waterhouse Field. No. 3 Scarborough finished 12-3-1.

“Not our day,” said Scarborough Coach Kerry Mariello. “They’re an outstanding team and they came to play today. We got down early and couldn’t overcome it.”

Katelyn Champagne set the tone with her goal just 1:01 into the game. Morgan LeBeau got the goal, on a rebound, just before the first half ended.

“We grew off that goal,” said Westbrook forward Kaitlyn Talbot, who scored the team’s last goal. “We just had momentum throughout the game.”

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Westbrook had earlier beaten Scarborough 2-1 in overtime. This time, the Blazes displayed their depth and used the experience gained from last years’ run to the state title game to ease to the win.

Five different players scored, midfielders Abby Symbol and Arianna St. Clair continually blunted Scarborough rushes at midfield, and Ella Morris and Lexi Witham each made a defensive save.

“I think that’s a tribute to how much of a team these girls are,” said Westbrook Coach Theresa Hendrix. “They’re always working together.”

“The dangerous part about (Westbrook) is that there is no one big superstar,” said Mariello. “They’re a solid 11 and no matter which direction we go, they’re going to stop us.”

Jumping out fast certainly helped. On Westbrook’s first rush, Witham carried up the right side and then passed to Champagne, uncovered at the left post, and it was 1-0 1:01 in. It remained that way until LeBeau scored off a penalty corner late in the half. After inserting the ball, she moved to the right post where she was able to knock in a rebound of a Talbot shot.

Even with that momentum, Symbol said the Blazes didn’t take anything for granted.

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“We came out in the second half and played like we were down a goal,” she said.

Mary Keef made it 3-0 with 17:05 left. Lillian Ranco scored with 11:37 remaining to make it 4-0. Talbot closed the scoring with 7:36 left.

Mike Lowe can be contacted at 791-6422 or:

mlowe@pressherald.com

Twitter: MikeLowePPH


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