WELLS — The message was clear and the results were almost instantaneous.
After watching her team get outplayed for almost the entire first half on Tuesday, Wells Coach Kristen Williams told her players they needed to be more aggressive if they wanted to win the game. It didn’t take long for them to respond.
Just 58 second into the second half, Jenni Schmitt slammed home a rebound in the circle and the Warriors held on for a 1-0 victory over Cape Elizabeth in a Western Maine Conference field hockey game.
“My girls are really talented and they’ve got a lot of skill,” Williams said. “Sometimes they don’t play to their full potential.”
That was the case in the first half when the Capers (7-6-1) dominated the action. They kept the ball in the Wells’ end for at least 75 percent of the half and had six penalty corners compared to just one for the Warriors (9-5).
But aided by great play from goalie Amber Ridgdon, who had four saves, Wells weathered the storm to keep the game scoreless at halftime.
The Warriors drove the ball deep into Cape’s territory to start the second half. Kaylar Masellas took a crossing pass in front and sent a shot on goal, but goalie Julianne Ayers made a pad save, one of her six in the game.
The rebound went right to Schmitt, who quickly shot the ball into the cage for a 1-0 lead with 29:02 to play.
“I honestly don’t remember what happened,” Schmitt said. “It was such an adrenaline rush.”
The Warriors continued to carry the play once they got the lead. They had most of the scoring opportunities in the second half and even threatened to go up 2-0 with a few great bids in the closing minutes.
All of the Capers’ best chances came in the first half when Kelsey Maguire and Ally Boyington did a good job of maintaining possession and setting up plays.
They had the Warriors on their heels and were awarded six penalty corners over the first 30 minutes, but Ridgdon and the Wells’ defense were up to the task each time and earned their sixth shutout of the season.
“We were lucky to get out of that half without them scoring,” Williams said. “It was like two totally different halves.”
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