Thomas College has become the destination for summer field hockey this year.

The Battle For Breast Cancer — Round 4 was held at Thomas last week. On Saturday, for the first time, Thomas will host the Maine Field Hockey Festival and the McNally Senior All-Star Field Hockey Game. The festival will be running from early morning to late afternoon, with a break to watch the all-star game, which begins at noon.

Maine Field Hockey Association Past President Katie Thompson said the festival is in its sixth year. This year, there are 35 teams signed up. The festival and all-star game are usually at Colby College.

“Colby is doing a lot of construction this summer,” Thompson said. “It didn’t work out for them and us in terms of scheduling.”

Thomas has two fields side by side, so the major difference is that the festival can run up until the all-star game on the second field, and resume almost immediately after the game is over. In the past, there was a break at Colby to allow players to make the walk from Colby’s football field to the field hockey field.

The players in the all-star game are the ones who were named all-state as seniors last season. Local players for the East include Winthrop’s Jessica Ames, Mt. Blue’s Rileigh Blanchet, Skowhegan’s Riley Blanchet, Allison Lancaster, Holly Lupo, and Mikayla Toth, Nokomis’ Kayla Braley, Taylor Shaw, and Lindsay Whitney, Cony’s Katie Carroll, Gardiner’s Camden Cone, Messalonskee’s Kylee Knight and Mikayla Turner, Mt. View’s Braley Leadbetter, Waterville’s Jena Nawfel, and Winslow’s Bethany Winkin.

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In 2010 the West took an early 3-0 lead, but the East rallied and the game ended in a 3-3 tie. The East has won each of the last three years, including a 3-0 victory last summer.

Skowhegan’s Lancaster won the Miss Maine Field Hockey Award last year. The other two finalists are Belfast’s Maddie Cummings, who will play for the East, and York’s Taylor Simpson, who will represent the West.

Thompson said there are 21 players for the East and 20 from the West who have indicated they will be playing in the all-star game.

“Usually, there are a couple who don’t come out of the people who respond,” Thompson said. “But we have a pretty even number on both sides, so that’s exciting.”

The Maine Field Hockey Association will make a donation based on admissions to the Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence A representative of the coalition will speak about the organization at halftime. Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for seniors and students, and $15 for families.

The coaches in the all-star game are the ones who took their team to the state final the previous year. That means Thompson will be one of the coaches for the East. She recently resigned as coach at Nokomis.

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“It’s just nice, you know?” Thompson said. “I have three girls who are going to be there playing. It’ll be a nice game to be on the sideline for.”

Munzing Media will be producing a broadcast of the game and making DVDs available for purchase. Order forms will be provided at the game.

Matt DiFilippo — 861-9243

mdifilippo@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @Matt_DiFilippo


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