Sixty minutes of field hockey is a full regulation game, with two 30-minute halves.
On Tuesday, fans were entertained to a pair of halves dominated by two separate teams.
Breaking a 0-0 tie at the half, the Mt. Ararat High School field hockey team scored a pair of goals to slip past the Brunswick Dragons, 2-0 in Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference action.
“This was our second year participating in the Drive Out Cancer Tournament and we really wanted to do something for the Mt. Ararat team. My girls have been directly affected by cancer as well and coming up with the idea of the bracelets lets us honor that throughout the year,” said Brunswick coach Karin Paquin. “It shows that even though we’re intense rivals, we’re part of the big community across the bridge.”
“We were playing what we’ve been practicing on, putting on the pressure, moving around without the ball,” said Paquin.
Less than two minutes into the contest, Mt. Ararat goalie Emma Lapreziosa made a diving stop to prevent a score early on.
“We came out a little flat. I knew it would take us a little bit to get going coming out of the emotional ceremony before the game,” said Chase.
Brunswick continued it’s pressure throughout the first half, creating opportunities within 25 yards of the goal, amassing five corners in the half.
“We’ve been working on our positioning on the corners. Spots were to be filled and there were times they were not so we came up empty handed,” added Paquin.
With just over 11 minutes remaining in the first half, Brunswick, behind Liberty Krauss, Hollie Imperato and Anna Rider, continued to put pressure on Lapreziosa. The sophomore made a kick save, keeping the Dragons out of the net.
The half ended in a scoreless tie as Brunswick outshot the Eagles 5-0 and took a 5-1 advantage in corners.
“I told the team at halftime that we needed to start playing field hockey,” said Chase. “We were making too many unacceptable mistakes on defense that we shouldn’t have been making.”
The Eagles came out in the second half and immediately put pressure on the Dragon defense, driving the ball deep into Brunswick territory, creating two corners in the first three minutes of the half.
It wasn’t until 7:15 into the half when Mt. Ararat fired its first shot on goal when Wyley Fitzpatrick took one. The shots continued against Dragon goalie Ainsley Harrower and six minutes later, freshman Brynn Charron knocked a loose ball past Harrower for the first score.
“We have a young team. I typically don’t have teams with a lot of freshmen and sophomores, but this year’s group is ready to play and they compliment my upperclassmen really well,” added Chase.
The goal lifted the emotions of the Eagles and that energy spread to the defense.
“After Brynn scored, we knew we had to get back on defense and hold them off because that’s when they’re fired up the most,” said Stover
Coming out of a timeout, Brunswick continued to struggle in keeping the ball on the offensive side, chasing a lot of Mt. Ararat players around midfield.
“Fluidity is what we’re trying to teach our players. When a player moves up, another player needs to slide into that position. I want my players to be able to play anywhere on the field,” said Paquin. “That didn’t happen too much in the second half. We had holes on the field where players were supposed to be. And when they are not, we don’t have control of the ball.”
Another threat for Mt. Ararat came up empty when Fitzpatrick and Hannah Houston attacked Harrower, but the junior netminder continued to make saves, keeping the Brunswick deficit at one goal. She finished with eight saves.
But at the 6:57 mark, sophomore Tegan Byrne grabbed a rebound out in front and pushed the ball to the back of the net for an insurance goal.
From there, the defense took care of the rest, shutting down the Dragons and continuing to not allow a shot in the second half. Lapreziosa finished with five saves in net. Mt. Ararat outshot Brunswick 10-0, taking a 6-1 advantage in corners in the second half.
“We’re happy with two wins thus far, but we still have some things to continue to work on,” said Chase. “I’m really happy that we won obviously. But I think it means a whole lot more to me about the two teams though.
“Normally we’re very matched. Today, them showing us the wristbands and bringing them to us not only fired me up to want to win this for my mom, but also for the team. I think it brought the two teams together,” added Stover.
Mt. Ararat 2, Brunswick 0
At Topsham
| Brunswick | — | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | |
| Mt. | Ararat | — | 0 | 2 | — | 2 |
Goals — (MtA) Brynn Charron, Tegan Byrne. Assists — Wyley Fitzpatrick, Holly Temple, Hannah Huston. Shots on goal — Mt. Ararat 10, Brunswick 5. Saves — (B) Ainsley Harrower 8; (MtA) Emma La[reziosa 5 . Corners — Mt. Ararat 7, Brunswick 6. Records — Mt. Ararat 2-0, Brunswick 1-1 Up next for Dragons — Friday at Lewiston, 4 p.m. Up next for Eagles — Thursday at home against Cony, 4 p.m.
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