FALMOUTH — The path for the Cheverus field hockey team has been more difficult this time. For the fourth straight year, however, the Stags have reached the same destination.
Lucy Johnson scored twice, and the Stags earned a return trip to the Class A state championship game with a 3-2 victory over Biddeford in the South final Wednesday night at Falmouth High.
Cheverus (17-0) has now won 35 straight games overall and 68 straight against Class A South competition – a run that includes state titles in 2021 and 2023 and a runner-up finish in 2022. The Stags will play Saturday against Brewer, which ended Skowhegan’s streak of 22 straight regional titles.
“It gets better and better every time,” Johnson said. “I can’t even describe it, I have no words. I was so excited when I saw there were five seconds left.”
The game was a rematch of last year’s South final, which Cheverus won, 5-0. Biddeford (14-3), which got goals from Hannah Sonne-Loranger and Mia Mariello, was far more competitive this time, battling the Stags to an essential push in terms of time in the circle.
But Biddeford was once again a play or two short after losing to Cheverus twice during the regular season.
“It’s bitter because, for the last four years … it just always feels like we’re trying, trying, trying,” Biddeford Coach Caitlin Tremberth said. “It just feels like we get on the doorstep, and we worked our butts off all offseason. But they should be proud, 3-2, they didn’t stop fighting.”
In previous years, Cheverus rolled through the South bracket, winning their last two regional finals by a combined score of 11-0. This year, however, the Stags had to survive Massabesic’s challenge in a 2-1 quarterfinal victory, then held off the Tigers.
“We had a learning moment in the quarters, we had a confidence builder in the semis, and it set us up perfectly for today,” Cheverus Coach Andrea Musante said. “It’s been exciting, and I think we’ve learned more from those close games than we ever would have in a blowout.”
In a fast-paced game that featured plenty of action at both ends, Cheverus turned its attacking time into more shots, forcing Tigers goalie Mariah Villandry to make 10 saves.
“We worked a lot on positioning ourselves in the circle,” Musante said, “(and) making sure that everyone was in it and that we had multiple scoring chances.”
Cheverus also benefited from a fast-developing transition game, led by midfielder Joey Pompeo.
“It’s definitely one of our biggest strong suits,” Pompeo said. “Our forwards are obviously very strong, so I (try) to get the ball to them as quick as possible and make something happen.”
Johnson opened the scoring, gathering the rebound of a deflected Zoey Radford shot and knocking it in with 4:57 left in the second quarter.
“It’s so important,” Johnson said about scoring first. “We wanted to come out in the first two minutes, and we didn’t, (but) that was totally fine. But in the second quarter, we just finished.”
Cheverus went up 2-0 on a corner with 11:59 left in the third quarter. Lillian Magda was credited with the goal during a scramble after she inserted to Johnson and then got the ball back for a shot.
Biddeford then began to generate some chances, and Sonne-Loranger scored with 4:53 left in the third, moments after missing on a shot. But the Cheverus defense held tough, and Ellie Skolnekovich made seven saves.
“In my mind, it’s a zero-zero game,” said Skolnekovich. “It doesn’t matter what the score is, it’s zero-zero, I’m playing to win.”
Johnson scored on a corner with 7:15 to play. Biddeford got within one on a reverse shot by Mariello with 29.6 seconds left, but the Stags closed it out.
“It was a good game,” Tremberth said. “I really wanted to be that Cinderella story. But against a good team like that, you just keep fighting.”
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