Spruce Mountain players celebrate with the Class C South championship trophy after defeating Mountain Valley on Wednesday in Biddeford. (Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Portland Press Herald)
BIDDEFORD — The game plan was simple for the Spruce Mountain Phoenix against Mountain Valley in the Class C South field hockey regional final: keep doing what got them this far.
The No. 2 Phoenix out-ran the No. 1 Falcons in a 3-0 victory at Waterhouse Field and will take on Winthrop in the Class C championship Saturday.
“We keep our speed up, we keep fresh legs in and we keep the other team running,” Spruce Mountain coach Jane Dipompo said. “Mountain Valley, they beat us in the last game of the regular season. We wanted to take nothing for granted, and they are an awesome team, we respect them immensely.”
The Falcons won the regular season finale 2-1, while Spruce (11-5-1) took the first matchup of the season 3-2.
The Phoenix controlled the majority of the first half, but Mountain Valley goalie Nora Tag was up for the challenge. She made back-to-back saves of first two shots she faced, and the Phoenix’s third shot of the game went wide.
Tag then made another key kick save to keep the game scoreless. She had seven stops in the game.
Spruce Mountain maintained the sustained pressure in the final 10 minutes of the opening half and was rewarded with penalty corners. Thee initial play on the first corner didn’t go as planned, but Emily Castonguay corralled the ball and ripped it into the cage from inside the circle with 6:30 remaining.
The Falcons aren’t used to being in a hole.
“Being scored on first is hard for them,” Mountain Valley coach Melissa Forbes said. “I think, mentally, that was hard for them to snap out of.”
Three minutes later, the Phoenix had their second corner of the game. They kept the ball inside the circle this time around, and Castonguay came out of the scrum with the ball and put it home for the second goal of game.
“We really haven’t been strong in our corners,” Castonguay said. “When we executed on them, it drove us to do better. So it helped us.”
Mountain Valley took the first two shots of the game, but went nearly 30 minutes before picking up its third early in the second half. The Falcons’ second shot after intermission went wide on Spruce Mountain goalie Melissa Bamford. They had pressure in the offensive zone for the first 13 minutes of the second half, but when they got into the circle the Phoenix did a good job of clearing the ball out.
“We knew we had to come out with the same energy as we did (in the first half),” Phoenix defenseman Julianne Doiron said. “We let down a little bit, but we pulled it together and came out with a win.”
Mountain Valley (13-4-0) finished four shots, but only one was on goal.
“Spruce played great, I don’t think they made any mistakes,” Forbes said. “We didn’t have anything could capitalize on. They played a solid game.”
Spruce Mountain called a timeout with 17 minutes remaining in the game and focused on getting the ball upfield again. The change in strategy paid off in the form of two straight corners. Avery Williams made the lead 3-0 off the second corner with 5:16 remaining.
“Once in a while they start drifting, I just need to refocus them, get them back in on the game plan,” Dipompo said of the timeout. ” Then they (went) out and (did) it.”
Spruce Mountain’s Emily Castonguay celebrates after scoring against Mountain Valley during the Class C South field hockey final Wednesday in Biddeford. (Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Portland Press Herald)
Spruce Mountain celebrates after its victory over Mountain Valley in the Class C South field hockey final Wednesday in Biddeford. (Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Portland Press Herald)
Mountain Valley’s Rylee Sevigny chases a loose ball as Spruce Mountain’s Hanni Johnson moves in during the Class C South field hockey final Wednesday in Biddeford. (Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Portland Press Herald)
Spruce Mountain’s Erin McPherson battles for the ball with Mountain Valley’s Rylee Sevigny during the Class C South field hockey final Wednesday in Biddeford. (Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Portland Press Herald)
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