Coming into Thursday’s matchup with Morse, the Mt. Ararat High School field hockey players knew this was going to be an emotional game for its seniors.
“My defense is my seniors,” said Mt. Ararat coach Krista Chase. “They provide so much to this team and help our young goalies.”
The win puts Mt. Ararat at 8-4 and currently fourth in the Class A North Heal Point Standings. Morse fell to 6-5 and is currently bouncing between 10th and 11th place in the Class B North heal points with three games remaining.
“We were angling a win today to get the heal points, but it didn’t work out for us,” said Morse senior forward Leah Totman. “We’ve got a few more games left to hopefully get some points.
Morse came into the contest with a gameplan to put a lot of pressure offensively on the Mt. Ararat defense, according to Morse coach Kerri Reno.
“It was a game I was hoping would be a little more offensive. Mt. Ararat came out on fire with their senior game being a big, big contender for them,” said Reno. “They were fast and quick to the ball. I don’t think we were as ready for that as we could’ve been.”
The Mt. Ararat defense altered those plans. Stifling the Morse front lines and controlling the ball at midfield, the Eagles outshot the visitors, 15-3.
“We really wanted this game. We had no preconceived notions about anything and knew we had to fight and come prepared to leave it all on the field,” said Chase.
It may have been Senior Day for the Eagles, but it was youth that drove the offense. Wyley Fitzpatrick put the Eagles on the board a little over 11 minutes into the game. Following Mt. Ararat’s first corner, the ball was put into the circle where it rolled around before Fitzpatrick got a stick on it and drove it to the back of the cage for the score and the 1-0 lead.
Fitzpatrick’s goal wasn’t the only contribution she made. The speedy sophomore was all over the field, causing fits for the Morse defenders, even at one point diving to the ground to try to score.
“She’s fast. She was a state champ in track last spring,” said Chase. “I love her effort she puts out on the field.”
The Eagles continued to keep Morse out of the offensive zone throughout the first half. Allowing only one shot on goal against Eagles netminder, sophomore Emma Lapreziosa.
Freshman Hannah Huston made it 2-0 later in the half with an unassisted goal. The Eagles outshot Morse 8-1 in the first frame and held a solid advantage in corners, 6-0.
“We knew at halftime we couldn’t sit back and hold on to a two-goal lead,” said Chase. “I was really proud how they played a full 60 minutes.”
The second half showcased a lot of the same type of play from the first 30 minutes. Mt. Ararat’s Katherine Trebilcock led the defense once again on the field. The senior sweeper made a key play later in the half to assist goalie Lily Schenk, stopping a Morse blast before it got to the net.
“We had a defensive let up down there and Katherine stepped up, knocking it away for us,” said Chase. “She made the adjustment to sweeper for us this year because we didn’t have anyone else there. She provides such great leadership.”
Sophomore Brea Holtet capped off the scoring 8:44 into the half when she grabbed a loose ball that the Morse defense failed to clear and found the back of the net for the goal.
Morse managed to put together a couple of runs and had three corners of its own. But the only two shots the Shipbuilders put on net were turned away by Schenk. The Eagles outshot Morse 7-2 and held a slight advantage of 4-3 in corners during the second frame.
“We couldn’t capitalize on getting the ball over the 50 when we had the chance to,” said Reno. “I think if we could have gotten to the circle a couple more times, we could’ve finished the shot, but playing defensively so much wore us out, having to get back so much (and) having to help out defensively.
“They have some quick forwards and some aggressive girls in front of the goal.”
“It’s great to see a team effort from everyone today. I can’t say enough about how hard our girls work, I’m very proud of them,” said Mt. Ararat senior Madison Stover.
“It’s always a good day when you play a game with close friends, and that’s what we did today against Morse,” said Chase.
Mt. Ararat travels to Bates College on Monday to take on Lewiston at 10:30 a.m. The Shipbuilders will take the bus ride to Waterville on Saturday morning at 11:30 a.m. against the Panthers.
“It was a tough loss, but we love Mt. Ararat. We play with a lot of these girls during camps and so forth so we look forward to playing these games,” said Shipbuilder senior Maddie Skroski.
“This is one of my favorite seasons. Yes winning helps, but to see these girls make it a team effort, it’s wonderful,” added Chase.
Mt. Ararat 3, Morse 0
At Mt. Ararat High School
| Morse | — | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | |
| Mt. | Ararat | — 2 | 1 | — | 3 |
Goals — (MtA) Wyley Fitzpatrick, Hannah Huston, Brea Holtet. Shots — Mt. Ararat 15, Morse 3 Saves — (Mo) Sophie Wilson 6, Ana Alaboudi 6, (MtA) Emma Lapreziosa 1, Lily Schenk 2. Corners — Mt. Ararat 10, Morse 3. Records — Mt. Ararat 8-4, Morse 6- 5. Up next for the Shipbuilders — Saturday at Waterville at 11 a.m. Up next for the Eagles — Monday at Bates College vs. Lewiston at 10:30 a.m.
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