FALMOUTH — They didn’t manage a shot on goal in the second half. They reached overtime only because one of their defenders saved a shot that got past their goaltender. And yet, the girls of Massabesic controlled nearly all of the extra five minutes and 15 seconds they played on a blustery Monday night before Jackie Bearse ended matters by knocking home a rebound to give the fifth-seeded Mustangs a 2-1 victory over top-seeded Falmouth in a Class A South field hockey semifinal.
“A little bit of magic, who knows?” Massabesic Coach Michele Martin-Moore said of the turnaround. “That’s a very good team over there, with a lot of seniors, and you could see they wanted it so bad, diving after the ball. But we maintained our composure, played our game and we just outlasted them.”
The Mustangs (12-3-1) advance to Wednesday’s regional finals against No. 2 Marshwood, a 2-0 winner over No. 3 Scarborough earlier Monday.
Falmouth, which outshot Massabesic in regulation by a margin of 13-4 and held a 5-1 advantage in second-half penalty corners, finishes with a 13-3 record.
Regulation ended with Falmouth attempting an eighth and final penalty corner, but Sydney Bell’s hard line drive caught Massabesic defender Josie Ring in the face and the score remained tied at 1-1.
Massabesic won the coin toss and took possession in the seven-on-seven overtime, staying on attack for more than three minutes before Falmouth could counter. The Mustangs had two penalty corners and put two shots on goal before Bearse converted. Logan Champlin took the initial shot after a pass from Emma Rutledge and the carom came directly to Bearse.
“We’ve been in overtime situations, so we certainly had experience,” Falmouth Coach Robin Haley said. “They just put a nice sequence of passing together and were able to finish it off.”
Rutledge had given Massabesic a 1-0 lead in the game’s 23rd minute by intercepting a pass near the end line and navigating through traffic before poking the ball into the Falmouth net. “The corner shot was open,” she said.
Falmouth senior Devon Sarazin tied it from the left side with 12:33 remaining in regulation after carrying the ball in from the left side. Two minutes later, she nearly had another but Massabesic defender Lydia Wasina – a lacrosse goalie – stopped her shot from behind Mustangs goalie Maddy Pomerleau, inches from the goal line.
“When it passed Maddy I’m like, ‘Oh, I’ve got to get it out of here.’ ” Wasina said. “I didn’t really think much. I just swept it out and away.”
Pomerleau finished with 11 saves, a few of them spectacular, including a kick save near the post on a Sarazin shot early in the second half.
“That’s the game of her life right there,” Martin-Moore said. “She knew we needed her in a big game and she did a great job.”
Massabesic returns to the Class A regional finals for the second time, having lost to Scarborough in 2013. The Mustangs beat Marshwood 2-1 on Sept. 13.
“That was a good month ago,” Martin-Moore said. “All bets are off now. It’s a new season.”
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