SCARBOROUGH — Scarborough’s defense and senior goalie Jamila Mohamed managed to hold the prolific Cheverus field hockey team’s offense in check for nearly 30 minutes Monday evening at the Kippy Mitchell Sports Complex.
The Stags scored in waning seconds of the first half and that opened the floodgates.
Cheverus pulled away in the second half and got two goals apiece from Lily Johnson, Lucy Johnson and Sydney Brunelle en route to a decisive 7-1 victory, the Stags’ second in a row this season and their 34th straight in the regular season, dating to 2020.
“It took us a minute to settle in and play together and create space,” said Cheverus Coach Theresa Arsenault. “Scarborough has great defense. They bring all their players and pack it in. Open looks are hard to come by.”
The Stags carried play from the start and went on top to stay in the game’s fifth minute, when Lucy Johnson ripped a shot that Mohamed denied, but the rebound sat free for Zoey Radford to bang home.
Then, despite holding the Red Storm without a single first half shot, while putting 11 of their own on frame and taking nine penalty corners, Cheverus couldn’t finish for a long time.
While Mohamed made several saves, on two other occasions, she was bailed out by defenders on balls that got behind her, including one swatted out of the air by Jersey Martin.
But with just 29.1 seconds showing, off a penalty corner, Lily Johnson took a pass from Joey Pompeo and finished to make it 2-0.
“That second goal was a backbreaker,” said longtime Scarborough Coach Kerry Mariello. “We knew they’d be great and we held strong for awhile. It’s too hard to hold a great team for as long as we did based on the experience we have.
With the rain picking up, the Stags ended any doubt in a four-goal third period.
Lucy Johnson scored twice in a two-minute span, then Lily Johnson scored for the second time, on a sizzling backhanded shot. Brunelle, a freshman, scored on a rebound off a penalty corner to make it 6-0.
“I think that second goal got us going,” said Lily Johnson. “It motivated us to pick it up. We were just getting warmed up. I think once we get going and we start connecting our passes and working as a team, a lot of good things can happen.”
Brunelle scored Cheverus’ final goal, from Sophia St. John, midway through the fourth period. The Red Storm finally broke through with 2:06 left, when Maggie Pendergast hit the post off a corner, but Emma Lally scored on the rebound.
“It was a little nerve-racking, but our whole team was really excited to get a game in, especially after practicing all week in not so good weather,” said Lucy Johnson. “It was a fun game. Especially on turf.”
The Stags finished with a 24-1 shots advantage, took 13 corners to Scarborough’s two and got one save from goalie Ellie Skolnekovich.
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