LEWISTON — Laura Mockler listened to Lisbon coach Julie Petrie and stayed close to the Boothbay net during a Class C South field hockey quarterfinal game Tuesday.
Mockler’s close proximity allowed her to punch in pair of goals in the first half to lead the second-seeded Greyhounds to a 4-0 victory over the seventh-ranked Seahawks at Lewiston High School.
Lisbon (12-3) will stay home for the semifinals and host third-seeded St. Dom’s (12-0) later this week. It will be the first meeting of the season between the two teams.
It was slow going for both teams before Mockler, who was alone in the left corner near the Lisbon cage when she slipped in an unassisted goal 7:44 into the first quarter
“I did a lot (of hanging around) this game,” Mockler said. “Coach told me to hang around there because we knew the shots were going to come over there, and I had to just get that tip right in the back.”
The senior forward was also bent on scoring for another reason.
“Having to get that one goal would get my team in the game spirit (and motivated). I couldn’t have done without them, for sure. I was very, very proud of (my team) this year. We’ve been talking about since eighth grade.”
Petrie was impressed by how Mockler evaded Boothbay’s defense and remained open near the Seahawks’ goal.
“She did what she was supposed to do with the wing and took it right in and scored,” Petrie said. “I am excited for her, and she did great finishing today.”
The Greyhounds came up with two more goals in the second quarter. Avia Russo punched in Lisbon’s second goal, then Mockler’s vigilance in front of net proved fruitful again when she followed up with her second goal off a Haley Tuplin assist with 33 seconds left in the first half.
After a scoreless third quarter, Boothbay continued to press on offense and had numerous chances to score in the fourth quarter, but Lisbon’s defense held up.
“I have a very young team, and I honestly cannot be more proud of my first year and how much they have overcome,” Boothbay coach Skyler Davis said. “Every single game we just keep getting better. Next year is a new year.
“(Lisbon) is amazing. I love the coach. They definitely show their heart and soul.”
The Greyhounds scored their fourth goal when Tuplin took a feed from Maddy Tuplin and scored 2:53 into the fourth quarter.
“I thought we passed the ball well,” Petrie said. “I feel like we kind of got off to a little bit of a sluggish start, but our goal was to try and score early.”
Lisbon goalie Maria Levesque made two saves while her counterpart Meg Sledge made seven saves for Boothbay.
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