AUBURN — Sophomore Emily Andrews and the St. Dominic Academy field hockey team can exhale after surviving a challenge from Maranacook in Tuesday’s Class C South quarterfinal.
Andrews scored the winning goal in the fourth quarter, lifting the third-seeded Saints to a 2-1 victory over the sixth-seeded Black Bears.
The Saints (12-0) will now face No. 2 Lisbon (12-3) in the regional semifinals later this week.
Andrews said that St. Dom’s recognized that Maranacook’s (2-11-2) record is deceptive because most of the their regular season games were against Class B teams.
“I was really nervous. I think we were all really nervous coming into this one because we knew it wasn’t going to be easy as it usually was during the (regular) season,” Andrews said. “But we kind of responded by playing our best, as well.”
Maranacook coach Ashley Work said the Black Bears played well, but they struggled to capitalize on their scoring chances — which, Work said, hampered them throughout the season.
“I think we controlled the entire game. (The Saints) just were able to get those tips in; we just couldn’t,” Work said.
Eighth-grader Ava Martin tapped the ball into the goal at the right post for the game’s first goal and a 1-0 Saints lead. Andrews set up the goal with a pass across the circle after dribbling the ball from near midfield into the circle.
“Well, honestly, it’s a lot of my instincts, and I knew I wasn’t going to get it into the circle (with a long pass from the sidelines); there was a girl right next to me,” Andrews said. “I was hoping (Martin) was going to be there, and she’s usually there when I am going down the sideline. She’s usually in the middle (of the field) ready to receive my pass. I just hit it to her and she executed it perfectly; she hit it right into the goal.”
The Black Bears controlled the remainder of the first quarter. They had three penalty corners and fired three shots at St. Dom’s goalie Maia Cote, but still trailed 1-0 heading into the second period.
“It was a back-and-forth game; I think (Maranacook) pressured us, for sure,” St. Dom’s coach Karli-An Holt said. “It was really fun to watch and was very intense on both sides, which I think we were waiting for this season. It was good to see the girls rise to the occasion, to the challenge, and play really well.”
Both teams had opportunities in the second but neither converted its shots on goals.
Black Bears goalie Esme Jamison made a nice save on a point-blank shot by the Saints early in the third quarter. Cote also had a save in the period.
Late in the third, a scrum developed in the circle near the St. Dom’s goal. Marnacook’s Kasey Mushlit gained enough possession of the ball to fire it into the cage, tying the game at 1-1.
“(Mushlit) is our top goal scorer (this season),” Work said. “She’s extremely dependable, and I can’t give enough praise to her. She’s one of my captains and did really well keeping the team going.”
St. Dom’s had its first corner of the game early in the fourth quarter, and Andrews managed to get the ball in the circle and rip a shot past Jamison for a 2-1 lead.
Andrews said giving up a goal in the third quarter provided a wakeup call for the Saints and motivated them to retake the lead.
“We realized we had to keep pushing because it could have been our last game,” Andrews said.
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