FREEPORT—Freeport field hockey coach Marcia Wood generally can’t get a pulse on her team’s emotions heading into a game.
But Saturday at the Joan Benoit Samuelson Track and Field, Wood learned before hosting Class B North powerhouse Leavitt that junior standout Emily Groves was nervous.
And that was music to her ears.
Because it meant the reigning Class B state champion Falcons were ready for battle in a possible state final preview.
And sure enough, less than five minutes in, Groves set up junior Liza Flower for a goal and Freeport was on its way.
Groves added a goal of her own midway through the third period and the Falcons’ defense and midfield stymied the Hornets from start to finish as they prevailed, 2-0.
Freeport, which earlier this week won at Class A contender Mt. Ararat and rival Greely, improved to 11-0 on the season, extended its two-year win streak to 19 games and in the process, dropped Leavitt to 10-2.
“I’ve talked so much about how the girls are so quiet,” said Falcons coach Marcia Wood, after her 113th victory with the program. “I asked yesterday, ‘Are you ready?’ and it was like crickets. I had no idea what team would show up today. Emily finally said she was nervous and I said, ‘Great, you should be.’ I think that took a little bit of the pressure off.”
Passing every test
After rallying to edge host Yarmouth in a regional final rematch in the opener, 2-1, the Falcons blanked visiting York (7-0), host Poland (7-0), visiting Brunswick (3-0), host Lake Region (4-0) and visiting Greely (2-0). After surrendering just its second goal all season in a 4-1 win at York, Freeport shut out visiting Poland (9-0), host Mt. Ararat (5-0) and host Greely (2-0) in its most recent action.
Leavitt, meanwhile, won its first 10 games by a composite 49-5 margin, surviving Lawrence in overtime in the opener, then prevailing in every game by at least two goals before finally meeting its match Thursday at Belfast in a 4-0 setback.
The teams also played a year ago, as the host Hornets emerged victorious, 2-0, last Oct. 2.
That was the last time Freeport lost a game.
And the Falcons hadn’t forgotten.
“We played them last year and we lost,” Groves said. “There were definitely some nerves coming into this game and also excitement.”
Saturday, on a sunny and seasonably warm (60 degrees at the start) but blustery day, Freeport started fast and went on to a statement victory.
The Hornets got possession first and got into the Freeport circle, but the Falcons negated the threat, then struck.
With 10:37 to go in the opening stanza, Groves played the ball down the left side, then crossed it into the circle, where Flower backhanded it past Leavitt junior Gabby Smith for a quick 1-0 advantage.
“We went into the game with one of our goals being to start off strong and keep up the intensity,” Flower said. “That first goal set the tone for the rest of the game. Emily had a beautiful cross to me and I didn’t have to do much.”
“Getting the first goal is huge for us,” said Wood. “Sometimes we struggle with that, but we got it quickly. Granted, it’s a marathon, not a sprint and you still have to play, but we at least had one there so if we had an oopsie, we were still in it. It was a beautiful goal. It’s fun to watch Emily and Liza. They’ve played together for so long and see each other beautifully.”
After a nice rush from junior playmaker extraordinaire Lizalyn Boudreau set up a corner, the Falcons couldn’t take advantage, then they had a couple more corner opportunities before the end of the first quarter, but a long Flower backhander was saved by Smith, then Groves missed just wide.
Leavitt looked to answer in the second period, but a rush from sophomore Ainsley Barry was broken up by Freeport junior defender Gwen Dunham and a blast from junior Jada Beedy was turned aside by Falcons junior goalie Maddie Kryzak.
Inside the final minute of the half, Groves and junior Reed Proscia were both denied off a corner and as time expired, Freeport got its seventh corner of the half, but it didn’t result in a shot and despite controlling play most of the way, the Falcons’ lead was a precarious 1-0 at the break.
“I wasn’t concerned,” said Wood. “I thought it would be tied, back-and-forth, back-and-forth. We struggled with corners because they’re so fast. We couldn’t get a big drive off. We had to stick with something simple because their fliers came out so fast.”
Freeport then got a little breathing room in the third quarter.
After Flower had a promising shot blocked and cleared, Proscia ripped a shot just wide and a Groves cross rolled through the circle untouched.
Then, with 7:53 on the clock, Flower’s shot was saved by Smith, but the rebound landed right at the feet of Groves and Groves, by the left post, tapped it home to make the score 2-0.
“Liza sent it over and it bounced off the goalie’s pads and I just saw it and hit it in,” said Groves, after scoring her 14th goal of the year.
“That goal was huge,” Wood said. “(Emily) has a knack for getting the ball in the cage.”
Leavitt coach Cathy Marston then called timeout and her team began to respond, generating more offense than it had all day, but the Hornets couldn’t answer and after Smith denied senior captain Sophie Bradford on a great look off a Flower feed, the game went to the final stanza.
There, Kryzak was tested for the first time, but she dove to deny Barry, then saved a Barry rebound as well with 7:20 left.
With 5:30 to play, Leavitt got a corner, but Boudreau knocked the ball away from senior Olivia Miller, then promising freshman defender Dailia McCarthy swept the ball away.
The Hornets got another corner a minute later but couldn’t generate a shot and from there, Freeport was able to run out the clock and celebrate its 2-0 victory.
“I feel like Leavitt’s perceived as a very strong team and last year’s loss played a factor, so knowing they were who we last lost to, it felt good to beat them,” said Groves.
“I think we’re just starting to put the pieces together,” said Boudreau. “We’ve played really well these past few games. Everyone gunning for us motivates us to show what we can do.”
“It was impressive,” Wood added. “It’s been a great week. The girls have totally stepped up to the challenge. They knew this would be a big week. This was a good test. I feel like we were in possession most of the time and we know we can compete with those teams in the north. They’re all tough.”
The Falcons had an 8-5 edge in shots on cage, got six five saves from Kryzak and had an 8-2 advantage on corners.
Freeport also posted its ninth shutout of the year.
“The important thing is our mental mindset is not to panic on defense since we don’t get a lot of defensive opportunities in games,” Boudreau said. “Staying calm was the big thing.”
Smith made six saves for the Hornets, who awakened too late.
“I think if we would have been present like we were the last eight minutes, it would have been a different game,” Marston said. “(Freeport) got in our heads. It’s hard to predict if we’ll be present or not. The first half, we were backpedaling and playing their game, not our game. I feel like the last eight minutes was the true Leavitt field hockey team.”
Postseason on the horizon
Leavitt (ranked second behind Belfast in the Class B North Heal Points standings) closes with a home game versus Maine Central Institute and a visit to Nokomis.
“We have MCI and Nokomis and they’ll both be tough games, but I think we have talent to take care of it,” Marston said.
Freeport (first in Class B South) looks to hold off Yarmouth for the top spot in the region, as it closes with home games versus the Gray-New Gloucester/North Yarmouth Academy co-op team and Cape Elizabeth and a contest at Fryeburg Academy.
“We’re really excited,” said Flower. “The past few games have been really fun and give us confidence going into playoffs.”
“We really have the motivation to improve every practice and every time we touch the ball,” Boudreau said.
“We just need to work together and if we do, I think we’re very capable of going all the way again,” said Groves.
“We just have to keep the hunger going and stay focused,” added Wood. “We’ll collect ourselves and refocus and get ready for playoffs. There are some very good teams that will be gunning for us, but I feel good about these girls stepping up.”
Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net.
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