Cheverus 2
Windham 1
Bethany Schleh scored two goals for Cheverus in the first half on Saturday to lead the visiting Stags past Windham, 2-1 in a preliminary round game. Natalie Harkins scored for the Eagles, who came up just a bit short.
“We played well, but so did they and they had more shots so they won,” said Windham head coach Cory Merrill.
The Stags unleashed 29 shots on goal. Windham goalie Taylor Duncanson finished the game with 27 saves-with 19 of those coming in the second half. Merrill was quick to credit Duncanson and her defense for keeping the game close.
“If it wasn’t for Taylor and some of the defensive players who made some stellar defensive saves; it would have been more than 2-1,” she said. “Defensively we were good today. Offensively we were fine, but we needed to get some more shots.”
Just a couple weeks ago, these two teams got together for a regular season game. That game was very similar in that the Stags launched a barrage of shots at Duncanson and the Eagles managed just three shots. In that game, however, Windham came away with a 1-0 win. It was not to be this time.
Schleh scored her first goal of the game just six minutes into the first half. Duncanson moved up in the circle to challenge the play and Schleh managed to get the ball by her for a 1-0 Cheverus lead.
Midway through the first half, the Eagles evened the score at a goal apiece. They brought the ball into the circle where Harkins took a swipe at it and sent it toward the net. The ball deflected off the stick of a Cheverus defender and into the net.
With less than two minutes left in the half, Schleh struck again. This time she shot from Duncanson’s left with a high shot that rippled the twine and gave the Stags their winning margin.
Try as they might in the second half, the Eagles simply could not score again. They began the half with three straight penalty corner opportunities, but couldn’t get a shot on net.
As time ticked away on the Windham season, the Stags kept the pressure on and kept firing shots on goal. This also prevented the Eagles from getting any quality offensive chances.
Eventually time ran out and the Stags were moving on to the quarterfinals. The Eagles finished their season with a 7-7 regular season record.
“I’d say it was a great season,” Merrill said. “I had the best group of girls I’ve ever had. They came every day and worked hard. Their hard work paid off. I know they would have liked to make it a lot further obviously but I think it was a great season for me and I think the girls had a good time as well.”
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