BATH — Allyssa Salley was apparently in the wrong place at the right time for the Skowhegan High field hockey team.
Sent in as a defensive replacement in the waning minutes, Salley scored the goal that gave Skowhegan another Class A field hockey state championship Saturday at McMann Field.
Salley, a sophomore sweeper, scored off a penalty corner with 1:17 remaining to give the Indians a hard-earned 2-1 victory over surging Massabesic in the Class A title game.
It was Skowhegan’s second consecutive championship, 14th in 16 years and 17th overall.
Massabesic, playing in its first state championship game, had tied the game with 6:28 remaining on a goal by Jackie Bearse off a penalty corner.
“This is a pretty big deal for our team to win again,” said Haley Carter, a junior sweeper for Skowhegan.
“Everyone thought we weren’t going to win but we pulled it out.”
Showhegan, which entered the Class A North tournament as the No. 4 seed, finished 14-3-1. Massabesic, which entered the Class A South tournament as the No. 5 seed, finished 13-4-1.
Skowhegan led 1-0 after the first half on a Maliea Kelso goal off a penalty corner – a hard, low blast inside the left post, assisted by Julia Steeves – but Massabesic controlled a good portion of the final 30 minutes.
And when Bearse – who had the overtime winner in the semifinals and a goal in the regional final – tipped a shot by Morgan Pike at the left post with 6:28 remaining, the game was tied 1-1 and overtime loomed.
Michele Martin-Moore, the Massabesic coach, implored her players to try to force another corner.
“We had a lot of good chances, we really did,” said Martin-Moore. “I was just hoping to get that one more corner down their side. I told my assistant coach, ‘Just one more corner.’ Then it ended on their corner.”
Salley entered the game in the final minutes, sent in by Coach Paula Doughty as a defensive back. But as Skowhegan pushed the ball up the field in the final two minutes, she ended up playing in the midfield.
“How she ended up there, I don’t know,” said Doughty. “I did the substitution and she was supposed to be in for an extra back and another kid was supposed to go in the middle, and they switched and the other kid went to the back.
“They knew what had to be done.”
Skowhegan was awarded a penalty corner with just under two minutes left. The ball was inserted by Steeves from the left of the cage to Kelso. Her pass was deflected to the right, where a scrum ensued and the ball suddenly went into the net.
“The ball went to the top, then was passed to the right,” said Salley. “It hit a stick and then I just hit it … It feels really good, that’s for sure.”
Massabesic became the 10th team from southern Maine to lose to Skowhegan in the title game since 2001, when the Indians began their remarkable streak.
“There’s a lot of tradition on the other side,” said Martin-Moore.
But once the Mustangs settled down after the first 10 minutes, they played Skowhegan fairly evenly. In the second half, Massabesic had six penalty corners to just three for Skowhegan.
“They’re a wonderful little team,” said Doughty, especially praising Massabesic’s Logan Champlin.
She added, “We were lucky they only put one goal in. They really threatened us a bunch of times, especially with the corners.”
The difference may have been Skowhegan’s championship pedigree. Even after the Mustangs tied the game and had momentum, the Indians weren’t concerned.
“Six minutes is a lot of time to score,” said Carter.
“We did what we had to do to get it done,” said Doughty. “And when we got down we came back tough and we pulled it out.”
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