BIDDEFORD — Abby Allen often doesn’t like to take a reverse hit because she doesn’t always know where the shot will go.
Well, Wednesday night she took one. And it sent Biddeford High to the Class A field hockey state championship game.
Allen, a sophomore midfielder, scored on a reverse hit with 4:31 left in the first overtime period to lift the top-ranked Tigers over second-ranked Westbrook 1-0 in the Class A South championship game at Waterhouse Field. Her goal lifted Biddeford into the state game for the first time since 1995.
The Tigers (16-0-1) will play three-time defending champ Skowhegan in the Class A state game Saturday at Husson University in Bangor at time to be determined.
Westbrook, the defending regional champ, finished 14-2-1, both losses to the Tigers.
“This feels amazing,” said Megan Mourmouras, a junior midfielder for Biddeford. “We’ve been working so hard … We’ve had the same mindset. It feels amazing.”
This was a magnificent game played at a frenetic pace with both teams having several scoring chances. But goalies Kim Goddard of Westbrook (eight saves) and Taylor Wildes of Biddeford (seven saves) dived and slid all over the turf to keep the game scoreless for 60 minutes.
Goddard was outstanding in her final game for the Blazes, twice stopping Allen on point-blank bids late in the second half. “She’s a wall back there,” said Westbrook Coach Theresa Hendrix.
But in overtime, the Tigers never let Westbrook out of its zone. “I told the kids there was no holding back,” said Biddeford Coach Caitlin Albert. “I told them to go hard.”
Biddeford had three corners in the first three minutes of the eight-minute overtime but couldn’t score. Mourmouras then stopped a Westbrook rush just before midfield and quickly transitioned the ball to the speedy Allen. She dribbled around one defender to the left and, just inside the circle, ripped a reverse hit that blazed into the far corner to end the game.
“Just Abby Allen doing Abby Allen things,” said Mourmouras. “Westbrook really pushed us. But all it took was that one goal, that one breakout.”
Allen said she tried not to think too much on the breakout.
“I didn’t plan to go on my reverse, I just pulled left and shot it and it went in the corner,” she said. “I didn’t really aim. Lucky shot.”
The Tigers played without her sister, Hailey Allen, who suffered a right knee injury in the semifinals. She was on the sideline with crutches.
“She was in my mind the whole game,” said Abby Allen. “I said it in my head before I took that shot, ‘This one is for Hailey.’ ”
Mike Lowe can be contacted at 791-6422 or:
mlowe@pressherald.com
Twitter: MikeLowePPH
Send questions/comments to the editors.
