Sharon Coulton acknowledges that she didn’t quite know what to expect out of the Winthrop High field hockey team his fall.
“We didn’t really have a season last year,” she said. “We played three or four games and also had nine seniors. Typically, in a normal year, this would be a rebuilding year.”
It has been anything but a rebuilding season this fall for the Ramblers, who defeated Mountain Valley 4-0 in the Mountain Valley Conference championship Monday at Lewiston. It is Winthrop’s fifth consecutive MVC title, according to athletic director Joel Stoneton.
The Ramblers (15-0), who enter the Class C South playoffs as the No. 1 seed, have outscored opponents 100-4.
“It’s been a joy,” Coulton said. “We have a small group, but we’ve had a good year so far. I don’t know if anyone thought it would be this type of season, but I did wake up pretty quick when we had our preseason games.”
Bella Littler scored two goals while senior captain Maddie Perkins had a goal and an assist to lead the Ramblers in the MVC title game. Lauryn Wood also scored.
“We knew mountain Valley would be a tough opponent,” Coulton said. “We knew they would be ready. We knew it would be a battle.”
Perkins leads what has been a dominant attack for Winthrop with 26 goals. Wood (17 goals), Littler (16), Madeline Wagner (13), Izzy Folsom (12) and Julia Letourneau (10) all finished in double-digit scoring. Senior Autumn Gerry has also performed well this season, Coulton said.
Brook Belz and Rhyan Sawlivich lead a strong core of defenders, and Winthrop splits the goaltending duties between senior Ellie Folsom and junior Madison Weymouth.
“This is a pretty good group,” Coulton said. “They are enthusiastic and motivated.”
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