Corinna Coulton thought she’d be huffing and puffing by the time she hit midfield, never mind reaching her intended destination nearly 100 yards away.
Coulton, the Winthrop Ramblers’ goalie, earned a rare opportunity Monday when she was selected to take a penalty stroke. In field hockey, any player on the field is allowed to take a stroke when one is awarded, and the ball is dead after the stroke is completed. That last piece is critical in allowing a goalie to take the shot.
With time winding down and the team trailing 3-0, Coulton got her chance.
“I was super pumped,” Coulton said. “I was told if we got another penalty stroke this season, I’d be taking it. Ever since preseason I’ve been practicing. Last year’s goalie, Alyssa (Arsenault), always had this crazy dream of being a stroker, and this year I wanted to try it.”
After hustling down the field, Coulton was unexpectedly far from winded.
“I was told that, if I did get to take a stroke, that I’d have to run down across the field and I’d be tired, I’d be in all my pads,” Coulton said. “I got down there, and I wasn’t tired. I was super excited.”
Calmly, the sophomore keeper settled behind the ball. On the official’s whistle, she fired the ball into the top left corner of the cage.
“Just last Friday, I finally nailed getting it into the top right corner,” Coulton said. “I was kind of pumped today.”
Coulton is now the lone person in MVC this season to have both scored a goal and posted a shutout as the keeper.
And then there was one
Lawrence and Messalonskee met this past weekend with more than just neighboring town bragging rights on the line. With Messalonskee’s earlier win over Skowhegan, Lawrence and Messalonskee’s game determined which team would finish the unofficial first half of the season unblemished.
In typical top-team fashion the game went into overtime.
The victor? Lawrence, which got a goal from Lauren Watson with 5:50 to play in the second extra period. The Bulldogs now control their own destiny in Eastern A, though they still face a tough road test at Skowhegan on Oct. 2, and another date with Messalonskee on Oct. 7.
Speaking of unbeatens
In Western A, three teams remain without a loss, with Scarborough, Gorham and Cheverus all sporting a ‘0’ in the loss column (as of Tuesday afternoon). The Red Storm do not face Gorham this season. The Rams and Stags met Tuesday afternoon.
York High School, which has one eight of the past 10 Western B regional finals and one state title during that stretch, remains on a mission as the Wildcats carry the lone unblemished record in West B again this season. In Eastern B, Gardiner has no losses, but one tie against Mt. View.
Western C remains a battle of two conferences, with Oak Hill the class of the MVC at 8-0, while the Yarmouth Clippers maintain a stranglehold on the WMC at 7-0. The teams won’t meet in the regular season, though a playoff collision is a possibility. In Eastern C, Winslow and Dexter are unbeaten, though the Black Raiders have a tie on their record, while the Tigers are a perfect 7-0.
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