CAPE ELIZABETH — Sophia Chung shot the ball and hoped for the best.
And in the process, she brought a marathon game to a most satisfying conclusion for the Cape Elizabeth field hockey team in an exciting early season contest against Freeport at Hannaford Field.
Chung’s second goal of the game, off a penalty corner with 38 seconds to go in the second overtime, allowed the Capers to eke out a 3-2 victory and improve to 2-1 on the young season.
“The second the ball came off my stick, I wished for the best,” said Chung, a junior. “It went in and I just jumped in the air.”
There wasn’t much separation between Cape Elizabeth – which made a surprising run to the regional final a year ago but lost its season opener by six goals to York – and Freeport, a team featuring six promising freshmen.
After a scoreless first period, both teams heated up in the second.
With 8:20 to play in the first half, Chloe White, a senior captain, put the Falcons (2-2) on top by firing a shot past Capers goalie Zoe Burgard (12 saves).
Cape Elizabeth answered less than two minutes later off a penalty corner, when Chung sent the ball across to Meghan Conley, who redirected it past Freeport goalie Piper Williams (seven saves).
The back-and-forth continued in the second half, as with 1:51 to play in the third quarter, Chung gave the Capers the lead, scoring off a corner on a feed from Grace Gray.
But the Capers couldn’t hold on. With 4:34 remaining in regulation, after Burgard denied Ava Gervais, Sophie Bradford tucked home the rebound to make it 2-2.
Neither team would score the rest of regulation and after Williams denied a couple Cape Elizabeth looks in the first 8-minute, first-score-wins overtime, the clock in the second OT ticked under a minute and it appeared a tie was imminent.
Until it wasn’t.
The Capers earned another corner and Chung inserted the ball. It came to freshman Liette Stoecklein, who crossed it back to Chung who fired it home for the winner.
“For Sophia to bear down mentally and win it at the end of the game was huge,” said Cape Elizabeth Coach Maura Bisogni. “She was on our offensive and defensive corners, so she had to bear down and get it done in overtime.
“Freeport is always tough. When we play them again, I’m sure it will be a similar situation. This win gives the girls a lot of confidence.”
The Falcons held a 14-10 edge in shots on goal and a 12-9 edge in penalty corners, but couldn’t quite come away with what would have been a signature victory early in the season.
“It’s disappointing, but we didn’t have much gas left in the tank,” said Freeport Coach Marcia Wood. “A tie would have been better, but we’ve come a long way. It’s a young team, so experiencing an overtime is great. We’ll see (Cape) again later in the season and probably in the playoffs too.”
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