Field hockey
Deering 0
Bonny Eagle 2
Jessica Spearin and Lacey Whitehouse each scored for Bonny Eagle to lead them past Deering, 2-0, Tuesday in their SMAA quarter-final match in Standish.
“The kids played very well,” said Bonny Eagle coach Patricia Bourget. “We’ve had very good practices since the season ended. The kids want to win, they’ve been (to the championship game) before and they want to get back, especially the seniors.”
Deering came out strong in the first half. They recorded two shots in the first five minutes. Meghan Ledoux stopped them both. In fact she stopped all nine shots she saw. Most of the action in the first half took place in the Scots’ end of the field. The Bonny Eagle defense, led by Alyssa Dunn managed to prevent a lot of shots.
Deering goalkeeper Chrissy Esposito was solid in the first half as well. She made two saves in a row as the Scots tried to stuff the ball into the cage midway through the half. Eventually they did slip one past Esposito. Amy Richardson sent the ball in from outside the circle. Spearin tapped it in for the score and the Scots led, 1-0. That would be the score at halftime.
“We were up 1-0 at the half,” said Bourget. “I told them they couldn’t get let down at all because Deering would be coming out like gangbusters against us, and that’s what they did.”
Three minutes into the second half, the Rams had a great chance to tie the game. A shot from right in front of the cage got past Ledoux. The solid defense continued as the defender swatted the ball away from the cage, preserving the lead.
The Scots survived two penalty corners midway through the second half, slapping the ball out of the circle before the Rams could shoot.
Bonny Eagle added their insurance goal with just under eight minutes to play. Whitehouse smashed the ball from the top of the circle and into the cage. Despite the extra breathing room, the Scots did not let up.
“I don’t think we relaxed,” said Spearin. “We were told to go out and play like we were down by three. So we weren’t really playing like we were ahead.”
Bonny Eagle played the same way down the stretch. Deering managed to get off one more shot but couldn’t find the cage. Two penalty corners for the Rams in the final minute could not prevent the Scots from advancing to the conference semi-finals. That attitude of never relaxing could serve the Scots well as the tournament progresses.
“Sometimes they figure ‘well we’re up by one we can lay back a little bit,'” said Bourget. “But it’s the playoffs; you can’t look back at what you did against a team in the regular season. You’ve got to come out like it’s a new season and play like you’re the underdog. They did very well I’m very proud of them.”
The Scots will be in action once again Saturday when they travel to Gorham to play the second-seeded Rams.
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