PORTLAND — The Thornton Academy field hockey team capitalized on scoring opportunities to pick up a 3-1 win over Deering on the newly renovated turf at Memorial Field on Monday afternoon.
The Golden Trojans (3-1) scored their first goal 15 minutes into the first half. The 1-0 score was produced by Aliyah Bureau, who was assisted by Lily Stark.
Thornton Academy head coach Lori Smith was happy to see her team bounce back after a tough 1-0 loss to Scarborough last week.
“After Friday, we were pretty disappointed in our play and our hustle. Today was a step in the right direction, we are working on trying to move to the ball a little bit more,” said Smith. “It was nice to get the balls in the net today because we had a few opportunities at the beginning of last game but we didn’t capitalize. I’d say we capitalized a little bit better today which was nice. I would say defensively we played pretty well, too.”
Bureau’s was the only goal for the first half of the game.
During the second half, Madison Skillings changed the score for Thornton Academy with back-to-back goals. Skillings scored once at the 17:14 mark, unassisted, and again with 15:35 left with the help of Lily Stark.
“We capitalized in the circle. That was a beautiful ball from Lily Stark to Maddy that just got a stick on it. Maddy scored two goals off the bench so that was exciting for her,” said Smith.
During the last 10 minutes, the Rams (0-4) would try to come back but came up two goals short. At 9:47, Allison Donoven scored Deering’s one goal, making the final score 3-1.
The Trojans dominated possession throughout the game, with most play in their offensive zone. At the end of the game, Thornton had an 8-1 edge in penalty corners.
“The defense played well. I think the most we’ve had for defensive corners in any of our games has been three so that’s been a highlight so far this season,” said Smith.
Deering goalie Maddalena Lapormada made 17 saves. Thornton goalies Madi Vachon and Jennica Botting combined for seven saves in the win.
The Trojans will host Noble on Thursday night.
— Sports Writer Sienna Barstow can be reached at sbarstow@journaltribune.com or at 282-1535 ext. 322. Follow the Journal Tribune Sports Department on Twitter @JournalTsports.