The Mascenic field hockey team has a shot to upset No. 1 Hopkinton on Saturday after dispatching Stevens in the opening round of the NHIAA Division III tournament on Wednesday.
“We live for that,” said Mascenic head coach Selena Shaw. “Nothing better than trying to knock off the No. 1 seed come tournament time – it’s anybody’s game.”
The No. 8 Vikings dominated No. 9 Stevens in their first meeting this season, despite the 2-1 scoreline, but the Cardinals came out much stronger in the rematch.
“We felt like we came out aggressively, particularly in the first half,” said Stevens assistant coach Rick Deschaine after the game. “We controlled a lot of the action.”
Stevens worked their wings along the sidelines, advancing the ball with smart, short passes and moving into the Mascenic end.
“They had really good small passes today, they used the sidelines really well, and they got the ball to the right side of the field and used the strong side really well,” Shaw said.
That offensive push led to a Zoe Foote goal at the 18:01 mark of the first half; the Cardinals kept the pressure on but couldn’t convert another tally, just missing on a corner attempt after the halftime buzzer that left Stevens in control at the break with a 1-0 lead.
“They outworked us in the first half and we said that we’re not going to let that happen in the second half,” Shaw said. “That’s one of the things that we do well is work hard.”
Mascenic’s Jade Traffie came into the second half determined to shut down the Cardinal offense.
“She made a huge correction and started cutting off that sideline,” Shaw said, “and that forced them back inside to where our help was.”
Stevens was focused on stopping Viking scoring machine Alannah Johnson – “we knew that she was definitely someone we wanted to know where she was,” Deschaine said – and so it was Bella Knisley who finally broke through for Mascenic at the 21-minute mark of the second half.
“She played big today,” Shaw said. “She didn’t get a lot of touches on the ball but when she did, she owned it. She just worked her butt off in there and put the ball in the net somehow.”
The Vikings began to tire, and around the seven-minute mark, Shaw subbed in Xaria Talbot for some fresh legs. The move paid off; Talbot immediately got the ball and fired a shot just wide, and about 30 seconds later, the Vikings found Talbot again and she slammed home the go-ahead goal.
“That was awesome,” Shaw said. “It was a good play, it was like four passes deep and then she just finished the ball, so that was perfect. We spend a lot of time on that in practice so it’s a good thing to see those results happen.”
Stevens made a last-ditch effort and took three corners in the waning moments, but Becca Staton didn’t give up an inch in net and the Vikings held on to a 2-1 lead as time expired.
“We just couldn’t knock it in,” Deschaine said. “We had plenty of opportunities in the first half and we probably could have – should have – taken advantage of those opportunities.”
Stevens finishes the season at 8-7.
Mascenic (10-5) travels to No. 1 Hopkinton (13-1) Saturday at 2 p.m. The Hawks and Vikings squared off to open the season on Sept. 4, with Hopkinton winning 4-1 to kick off a seven-game win streak. After losing 2-0 to Gilford on Sept. 25, the Hawks reeled off another six-game streak before entering the playoffs with a bye.
“They’re a good team, they’re fast, and they play well, they have a lot of skill,” Shaw said, “but anything can happen in playoff hockey.”
Deschaine gave the Vikings as good odds as anyone against the top dogs.
“Mascenic’s a really tough, hard-nosed team,” Deschaine said. “I think anybody in DIII in this playoff tournament can feel like they have a chance against anyone else.”
Gilford 4, Conant 1
The No. 11 Orioles couldn’t pull off the upset on the road at No. 4 Gilford Wednesday, losing 4-1 in the first round of the NHIAA Division III tournament.
“It was pretty evenly matched for most of it, but unfortunately Gilford wanted it more,” said Conant head coach Jackie Brown.
Teagan Kirby scored Conant’s only goal on an assist by senior captain Lex Gallagher, who left it all on the field in her final game as an Oriole. Abby Wheeler and Tiffany Marrotte played well, Brown said, and Elizabeth Gonyea worked hard but couldn’t find the back of the net.
Conant finishes the year at 8-7. The Orioles only graduate one senior, Gallagher, and expect 11 freshmen to join next year.
“That will give us depth on the bench which is much needed,” Brown said.