Mt. Blue’s Molly Harmon (8) is surrounded by Nokomis’ Alexys Down (3) and teammate Jaime Skinner (1) during a field hockey game at Caldwell Field in Farmington on Wednesday afternoon. (Tony Blasi/Sun Journal)
FARMINGTON — A couple of injuries and Nokomis’ offensive outburst rattled Mt. Blue in the middle of the second half, but the Cougars quickly figured it out Wednesday afternoon.
Mt. Blue goalie Brooke Bolduc (three saves), who had a light first half, was her usual stubborn self, and replacements for the injured held firm in the Cougars’ 6-2 field hockey victory over the Class B Warriors at Caldwell Field.
“We got a few injuries and I put in some other players and they did their jobs,” Mt. Blue coach Jody Harmon said. “There were some not-so pretty parts, but we got the job done.”
Harmon praised her team’s communication and dazzling passing, which put the kibosh on the Warriors’ offense in the first half.
“It was an excellent passing game,” she said. “It was like at one point on one of the goals, we had seven passes to get to that goal. It was just beautiful.”
Junior Ashley Parlin was a force on offense, slapping in three goals for a hat trick. Her back-to-back goals rallied the Cougars in the second half.
The first half belonged to Mt. Blue, which headed into halftime with a healthy 4-0 lead.
Senior Ellie Pelletier loosened up the Cougars with the first goal of the game at the 25:36 mark.
About two minutes later, Parlin began her scoring run with a goal off assists from juniors Bailey Levesque and Molly Harmon.
Freshman Eva Stevens slipped her goal in the net via a Parlin assist at 14:44 of the first half. Stevens was followed by junior Madison Bard’s goal on an Ella Stone assist, providing Mt. Blue with a 4-0 lead heading into the second half.
The Warriors, which had a goal called back in the first quarter, reeled off two goals and stunned the Cougars at first.
Nokomis sophomore Alexys Dow scored with assistance from senior Macie Leali with 25:06 left in the game. Senior Jaime Skinner slipped another goal past Bolduc seven minutes later, with Cassadie Newhall earning the assist.
“We had a nice halftime talk, I’d say,” Nokomis coach Taylor Lovley said. “We struggled coming out in the first half. That’s one of things we have been working on a lot. We talked about positivity and playing with your teammates, and I think that really helped. We definitely played better in our second half.
“They are Class A and they are high in Class A. The fact that we were able to score two goals was great. We are definitely working on our defense right now. Six goals is a little much but it was good practice. They are a talented team. Their passing is beautiful and they have great skills. I am happy the way we came out.”
But the Cougars responded in kind with back-to-back goals from Parlin to give Mt. Blue some breathing room in the last seven minutes of the game. Rylee Keaten picked up the assist on Parlin’s third goal.
Mt. Blue Ashley Parlin (11) scores her first of three goals as Nokomis’ Makenzie Cooney (11) looks on during a field hockey game at Caldwell Field in Farmington on Wednesday afternoon. (Tony Blasi/Sun Journal)
Eva Stevens sends the ball past goalie Katelynn Lessner and into the Nokomis net in the first half during a field hockey game at Caldwell Field in Farmington on Wednesday afternoon. (Tony Blasi/Sun Journal)
Mt. Blue goalie Brooke Bolduc kicks the ball out in the second half of a field hockey game at Caldwell Field in Farmington on Wednesday afternoon. (Tony Blasi/Sun Journal)
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