Gorhamite Jamie Juskiewicz gave her girls an early lead vs. visiting Windham in the first round of the playoffs on Saturday afternoon, Oct. 15, and the Rams never relented from there. The team thoroughly dominated the second half, in time adding two further points for a 3-0 victory over the Eagles.

Gorham head coach Becky Manson-Rioux didn’t take to the field with a strategy specific to Windham’s style of play, but she and her girls did have in mind the teams’ previous bout. The Rams prevailed in that battle, 3-2, but the flow of the game from start to finish left them feeling dissatisfied.

“It’s the intensity; setting that tempo and keeping it up for the whole game,” Manson-Rioux said of Gorham’s approach to the rematch. “In our previous match with them, we were winning 2-0 at halftime, and they came back and tied it up and we went into overtime. We wanted to prevent that.” 

“We came out flat,” said Windham head coach Cory DiDonato. “We did. As individuals, we did pockets of things really well. We had a hard time coming together a whole unit. But we’re still growing as a team, and learning how to work together, and learning how to stay spread out and support each other in the roles they’re given on the field.”

DiDonato’s approach to Gorham focused on correcting what had gone wrong in the outfits’ first meeting. “The last game we played them, they had 13 corners and 17 shots on goal,” she said. “So we worked really hard all week on getting low in the circle, having our sticks down. We have a really strong defense, so I feel confident in that. But we were playing up a little bit too high. So Gorham had 18 corners today, instead of 13.”

Juskiewicz, assisted by Erin Esty, kicked off the Rams’ trio of goals less than six minutes into the opening half. “We were connecting those passes and not giving up,” Manson-Rioux said of the play. “And it just kind of came across, off of (Erin) to (Jamie).”

Asked what changed from the first half to the second, Manson-Rioux pointed to a spike in her girls’ intensity and their chatter in the downhill minutes. “It was communication,” she said. “At halftime we said, ‘Okay, are we satisfied with it being 1-0?’ And we had nine corners. When you don’t score on nine corners, it’s frustrating. So we tried to light a fire under them and it worked.”

“It’s the lifting it,” said Manson-Rioux, by way of explaining what needed to change for her girls to capitalize on more corners. “Lifting it past the goalie, as opposed to just hitting it into pads. We had a lot of shots close on the net, but the pads just seemed to be right there.”

Manson-Rioux likewise credited her girls’ back-and-forth on the field with their defensive success. “It’s communication; that’s what we’re striving for all game long, and if we keep that up, we know we have someone to back the next person up. If one person steps up, someone’s recycling behind her.”

Hallie Thomas notched Gorham’s second goal of the afternoon with 9:08 to play in the second half. After a Windham player prevented a ball from crossing into the cage with her body, Thomas lined up for a penalty stroke, beating Windham keeper Grace Sawyer on the low-left with the shot.

The penalty strike infused Gorham with a good deal of fresh confidence. “It was huge,” said Manson-Rioux. “To score on a stroke, and Hallie hadn’t scored yet this season, it set the tone for the end of the game and we were able even to put another one in the net.”

“A player, not the goalie, put herself in front of the ball,” said DiDonato of the penalty shot. “So it was a preventable stroke; it didn’t need to happen.”

In some instances, the penalty stroke is the preferable outcome, of course: If the player blocking the ball stops an imminent goal, a penalty stroke offers the keeper a second chance to make the save. But that’s not quite what happened to the Eagles on Saturday. “My player sat on it,” DiDonato said, “so … my hope is that the goalie would have gotten there.”

Grace McGouldrick capped the Rams’ afternoon with a mere 1:24 remaining, assisted by Grace DeWitt. 3-0 the final.

Manson-Rioux applauded her keeper, Jessica Dusseault. Dusseault’s shutout vs. Windham was her sixth of the year. “She averages 10 saves a game, at this point,” Manson-Rioux said of Dusseault. “That’s a lot of saves. Some games she had just a couple, but some games she had 18. She’s been tremendous; she’s fast, and she talks, and she wants it, you know?”

Manson-Rioux said her defenders have come to rely on Dusseault’s stalwart performances in the cage. “They know she’s there, defensively strong, and she’s usually on with anticipating and not hesitating and going out and booting it out of there.”

Dusseault’s presence on the field was not actually a major factor in DiDonato’s thinking. “Honestly, it wasn’t even on my radar, because we scored two goals on her last time we played, a week and a half ago,” DiDonato said. “What I always tell my girls is: If they can get the shot off immediately and rush the pads, they have a chance. That’s what one of our weaknesses was this year, picking it up in the circle and being able to get the shots on.”

Gorham, 10-4-2 after ousting the Eagles, traveled to No. 1 Falmouth (12-2) for the quarterfinals round on Wednesday, Oct. 19, after Current Publishing’s print deadlines. “We’re psyched,” said Manson-Rioux. “We lost in our prelim last year, and the year before we lost in a quarterfinal. We’re excited to get back to that point and see what we can do from there.”

Windham retires till 2017 at 7-7-1. “I’m going to be honest,” DiDonato said. “We’re building. We went from winning two games last year to winning six and making the playoffs this year. Gorham is a very established, well-run program. They’ve had the same coach for years and years and years. I feel like, with consistency, Windham’s going to get there, because they’re a talented bunch of ladies, for sure.”

Windhamite Paige LaFerriere charges ahead, looking to interrupt a Gorham opponent’s hack at the ball.

Windham’s Meghan Griffeth and Gorham’s Grace McGouldrick clash over a ball.

Gorhamite Grace DeWitt battles a Windham opponent for control in the Rams’ playoff win over the Eagles on Saturday afternoon.

Gorham’s Jamie Juskiewicz dribbles on the attack vs. Windham.

Windham’s Elizabeth Steilen chases down Gorhamite Molly Barr, pushing forward with the ball in the teams’ playoffs prelim on Saturday.

Gorham’s Karen Stemm drives forward with the ball as Windhamite Taylor Tibbetts advances to challenge.