SANFORD ”“ The effort shown (or not shown) by Sanford in its last field hockey start was less than satisfying.
To Diana Walker, the Redskins’ veteran coach. And to her players, too.
Monday, Sanford was anything but lackluster as it handed fellow Western Class A foe Marshwood a solid 3-1 thumping, under the lights at Goodall Park.
Sophomore Caroline L’Heureux led the attack with a pair of goals while senior co-captain Jordan Brasier added another, helping the Redskins atone for Saturday’s 1-0 setback at Gorham.
“I honestly feel,” said L’Heureux, “that when we got off the field in Gorham, we realized ‘this is not our team.’ We barely competed. We weren’t living up to our standards.”
Such was hardly the case against the Hawks (3-3-1).
Sanford grabbed the lead 9:10 into the game, when Brasier cashed in a long hit from Celina Clarke, and held it the rest of the way.
“Effort was definitely part of it,” said Walker. “But they were talking and they were communicating with each other, which they had not been doing.”
Sanford controlled play for large stretches of the first half while limiting the Hawks’ chances.
When called upon, goalkeeper Sarah Stanley was ready with the timely save that kept Marshwood from working its way back into contention.
“The defense played well,” said Walker. “There were opportunities for them to have more shots, and when they did, Sarah came through for us.”
Sanford took a 1-0 lead into the second half, then doubled it 4:57 into it with L’Heureux’s first goal off a penalty that Brasier swept in from the end line.
“I went to the right post,” said L’Heureux, “when Lindsay (Nolette) shot the ball off the goalie’s pads. I think there was another shot, then I deflected it back into the goal.”
L’Heureux said that the play’s success is the result of endless drills in practice.
“She (Walker) drives it into us,” she said. “I know that when the ball goes out to Lindsay, the goalie has her back to me. So then I know that within a split second, I’ve got the whole open right side. You have to be very quick. It seems like it’s going slow, but it’s going a lot faster.”
L’Heureux was quick enough then, as she was again in the waning minutes, when she popped in an insurance goal that sealed the win.
“Tonight, we gave it our all,” said L’Heureux. “And it showed.”
The Redskins will take the field again, Wednesday, at McAuley.
— Contact Dan Hickling at dhickling@journaltribune.com.
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