SANFORD — Wednesday night’s Class A South field hockey showdown between Biddeford and Sanford featured two of the best goalies in the state.

Biddeford junior Taylor Wildes had allowed just 10 goals in the first nine games of the season, while Sanford senior Amber Singleton has kept the young Spartans in a lot of games and recorded two shutouts.

On Wednesday night, both goalies once again played well, but the Biddeford offense proved to be the difference as the Tigers peppered the Sanford goal with 25 shots and would connect on three of them as they picked up a 3-1 win over the Spartans at Goodall Park.

“She had a great game tonight. She was a real life saver, even though we lost, she was a life saver for us, just to keep it close,” said Sanford coach Diana Walker of Singleton.

While Singleton had to face a barrage of shots, Wildes got plenty of help from her defense and stopped six of the seven shots she faced in the win.

“Her communication, her leadership and I think the girls feel comfortable with her,” said Biddeford coach Caitlin Albert on what makes Wildes so important to her squad. “It really does start with Taylor, and they really are so confident, they are playing as a team and Taylor’s like the glue to our team.”

Wildes has grown a lot during her first two-plus years in the cage, but so has the Biddeford program, according to Albert.

“She came in as a freshman and didn’t know if she was going to play goalie or defense and she kind of like, ‘oh, I’m getting this,’” said Albert. “Her first year she had something like 350 saves and then it started getting less. Last year, she was only at 180 (saves) and she’s like ‘I didn’t get that many saves,’ and I said, ‘that’s because our team is getting better. It’s a good thing.’”

It also helps that the Tigers have a solid defense — led by Harmonie Coolbroth, Cori Cote and Charli Yohio — in front of Wildes.

“They do a good job. They stop the momentum right there … they have been doing a good job just killing the other team’s momentum,” said Albert of her defense.

The Tigers started putting pressure on the Sanford defense from the start as they fired 13 shots at Singleton in the first half. It wasn’t until there was 13:03 left in the opening period that Biddeford got on the scoreboard as Sarrah Marcotte scored off an assist from Paige Laverriere to make it 1-0.

The Tigers had dominated the possession throughout the first 30 minutes, but only had a 1-goal lead to show for it.

Albert’s halftime message to her team was simple.

“Persistency,” Albert said. “Just keep shooting and eventually it will go in … and if it doesn’t at least it’s on our side of the field.”

That persistency would pay off in the second half as Marcotte found the back of the cage off a Megan Mourmouras assist at the 21:07 mark of the period to make it 2-0. It was the 16th goal of the season for Marcotte which puts her in a tie for the program’s all-time record for scores in a single campaign.

The Tigers would put the game further out of reach with 13:14 remaining when Laverriere took a pass from Mourmouras and scored to make it 3-0.

“They are connecting really well,” said Albert of her offense.

Sanford would ruin the Biddeford shutout with 5:25 remaining as Alysha Simpson scored a goal to make it a 3-1 game.

“I was tickled pink that they scored at the end just to eliminate the shutout and to prove to themselves that they can score,” said Walker.

The Spartans, who are now 4-7 on the season, are a young squad playing in a very tough conference. Walker has been stressing to her team the importance of getting better every time you hit the field.

“We just try and play as a team, try to improve every game and just look at what you’re doing and try and improve upon it,” said Walker. “I’ve got some great leadership with my seniors that I do have. They are very positive and know that they are working with a young team.”

While Sanford is clinging to the final playoff spot, the Tigers are currently 8-2 and sit in the sixth spot in the loaded Class A South. Albert is hoping her team, which has won four straight games, will stay focused and peak when the playoffs roll around. 

“This is part of five games in a week-and-a-half, so it’s kind of tough to keep banging out games but it will be a fun week-and-a-half. We just need to focus and hone in because playoffs are in less than two weeks, it’s crazy,” said Albert.

— Sports Editor Pat McDonald can be reached at pmcdonald@journaltribune.com or at 282-1535 ext. 322. Follow the Journal Tribune Sports Department on Twitter @JournalTsports.

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