By PAT McDONALD

Sports Editor

WATERBORO — Most times heading into the postseason there are one or two teams that are the clear favorites to reach the state finals.

When it came to Class A South field hockey this season, there were six teams with 10 wins on their resumes entering the playoffs — with all six capable of making a deep playoff run. So it wasn’t a surprise to anyone when Saturday’s regional semifinal game between No. 2 Massabesic and No. 6 Westbrook went down to the wire.

Unfortunately for the host Mustangs, it would be the Blue Blazes who came out on top as they scored a goal in the second overtime period to take a 3-2 victory and advance to the Class A South championship game. Westbrook will face No. 4 Biddeford on Tuesday at Thornton Academy. The game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start.

“That’s a tough game. Neither team deserved to lose that game, but somebody had to win it. It was their day today,” said Massabesic coach Michele Martin-Moore after the heartbreaking loss.

Westbrook would strike first on Saturday with Morgan LeBeau beating the Massabesic defense for a score with 9:11 left in the opening half.

It wouldn’t take long for the Mustangs to respond as senior Emma Rutledge collected a rebound and scored with 5:39 left in the half to make it 1-1.

The Mustangs took the lead just over a minute later. Kaylee St. Laurent fired a shot that was knocked away by the Westbrook keeper, but it would go right to Rutledge who knocked it into the back of the cage to make it 2-1.

The Blue Blazes came out firing in the second half as they would get six penalty corner opportunities in the first 10 minutes. They would finally cash in on the sixth corner chance when Maddison LeBeau sent a rocket into the cage with 20:54 left in regulation to make it 2-2.

“Their first step to the ball was a little faster than ours, and when you have corners and your defense is constantly having to run back 50 (yards) and then come back in, that wears you down. Kudos to Westbrook for having more energy at that time,” said Martin-Moore on Westbrook’s strong start to the second half.

Westbrook had a chance to take the lead with 16:20 left but Massabesic goalie Mady Pomerleau would take a chance and came out of the circle to kick the ball away.

Massabesic had several corner chances late in the second half, but the Mustangs were never able to get a good shot on goal.

The Blue Blazes had the final shot in regulation as they earned a penalty corner with no time left on the clock, but the Massabesic defense held strong to force overtime.

In the first overtime, the Mustangs started strong as they were awarded a penalty corner with 4:38 left, but once again they were never able to get a strong look.

Westbrook had a fast-break opportunity right after Massabesic’s penalty corner, but Pomerleau would once again come out to knock the ball away.

“I’m telling you she’s this little, tiny thing, but she has grown leaps and bounds. She knows when she needs to do that and she trusts her teammates to have her back,” Martin-Moore said of Pomerleau’s stellar play in the cage.

The Blue Blazes nearly got the win in the first overtime as they had another fast-break opportunity with time winding down. Pomerleau would once again come out to try and knock the ball away, but Mary Keef would get past her only to have Massabesic senior captain Morgan Pike get in her way and force the referee to blow the whistle just before Keef sent the ball into the cage.

“That hustle by Morgan to have a foot foul to create the stop in play and not do it on purpose, to hustle back to try and stop that play, I mean that’s the kind of belief that they have in each other and they’ve had that all year,” said Martin-Moore of the huge play by Pike.

Massabesic had one chance in the second overtime period, but the Westbrook defense was able to clear the ball.

Westbrook would end it with 5:09 left when Maddison LeBeau fired a shot at Pomerleau, who blocked it but Avery Tucker tipped it in to secure the victory for the Blue Blazes.

Martin-Moore felt that the Blue Blazes were able to handle the long, hard-fought game — which was played in 70-degree weather with the heat index on the turf reaching triple digits — just a little better than her squad.

“I think the heat, the legs, you know, but Westbrook had to play through that same stuff,” said Martin-Moore. “Both teams you could see them as they were going down the field, you could see both teams were kind of rubber-legged … they were just less rubber-legged.”

It was a tough ending for the nine seniors on the Massabesic roster, but that group has left a lasting legacy which includes a trip to last year’s state finals.

 “There are no words to describe what they mean to the program. I’ve watched these kids since they were in third grade. Most everyone of them went through the feeder program that I run and they are just wonderful individuals,” said Martin-Moore.

While the seniors have been key to the Mustangs’ success on the field, what Martin-Moore will remember most is their character and ability to come together to help others.

“They are phenomenal field hockey players, but as good as field hockey players as they are, they are twice the people. I mean they get together, every year they decide who they want to help in the district,” said Martin-Moore.

This year the Mustangs decided to pitch in to make 7-year old Biddeford resident Brock Chadwick’s favorite time of year a little better. Chadwick, who is battling brain cancer, loves Halloween and his mother sent out a request for people to send her son Halloween cards to help make this holiday really special.

When Massabesic’s seniors learned of Brock’s story, they came together to help brighten his favorite time of year.

“I mean as soon as that thing for the little Biddeford kid hit online that he needed cards, immediately one of the captains came in as said, ‘coach, we need to do this after practice on Thursday,’ and organized it. That’s the type of kids they are. They are great, great kids and we are going to miss them tremendously,” Martin-Moore said.

Martin-Moore believes that this group has laid a strong foundation for the Massabesic field hockey program.

“The nice thing is the tradition that they’ve set, the heart and the soul, that’s going to lay behind. That’s going to be still here,” said Martin-Moore, who will return several standouts next season. “ I mean we’ll have nine seniors gone, but we’ve got some really good talent coming up through.”

— Sports Editor Pat McDonald can be reached at pmcdonald@journaltribune.com or at 282-1535 ext. 322. Follow the Journal Tribune Sports Department on Twitter @JournalTsports.