Gray-New Gloucester 0
Wells 2
The Gray-New Gloucester field hockey team has just one win this season – a 3-0 victory against highly ranked Wells back on Sept. 7. And that also happens to be the only time Wells has lost all season, as the Warriors were at No. 2 in the most recent West B Heal Point standings. On Tuesday evening in Wells, those same two teams met, but this time it was the Warriors emerging with a 2-0 victory.
“They were ready to go and better prepared than the first time,” said Gray-New Gloucester assistant coach Erica Cook regarding Wells.
From the outset, the Patriots again gave Wells all it could handle as the teams battled to a 0-0 halftime tie. Although the Warriors controlled most of the first half play, they were unable to break through the Gray-New Gloucester defense and goalkeeper Kellie Sanborn (12 saves).
The Patriots were trying to stop a Warrior threat in the late stages of the first half when Abby Felker was knocked unconscious during a scramble in front of the Gray net. An errant stick caught Felker in the head and sent her to the ground with 6:36 left in the half. She gave a wave to her teammates as she was loaded into an ambulance and taken to a local hospital as a precautionary measure.
Gray lost their focus for a bit as Wells had several more scoring chances before the half, but the Patriots and Warriors remained deadlocked heading into the second half. “We lost our momentum when that (the injury to Felker) happened,” said Cook.
Wells immediately attacked the Gray net after the break and they grabbed a 1-0 lead off a goal from Kelsey Lewia just 42 seconds into the half. The Patriots came right back one minute later with a penalty corner in the Wells end, but they were unable to turn it into a shot on net.
The Warriors then had a series of corners that pressured the Patriot defense for a three-minute span. Sanborn kept the ball out of the net and Gray defenders Nicole Ganem and Chelsea Landry did a nice job of thwarting the Warrior offense.
Gray’s best chance at scoring came midway through the second half when a penalty corner produced a shot that went wide of the Wells net.
The Warriors added to their lead with 6:24 to play in the game as Kelsey Lewia scored her second goal of the night for the 2-0 final.
The Patriots played until the final whistle even getting a corner with one minute to play for one last chance at getting on the scoreboard. “They have a new coach and a new attitude and they never give up,” said Wells coach Kristin Williams about the Patriots.
Also playing solid games for Gray-New Gloucester were Michaela Sangillo, Maggie Gerber, Amanda Kimball, Amanda Redmond, Jaclyn Anania, Liz Hahnel, Liza Sherlock, and Katie Hotham.
The Patriots are now 1-6 and they were scheduled to host Falmouth on Thursday, Sept. 27.
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