Gardiner’s 10-1-1 record is good enough for the No. 1 spot in the Eastern B field hockey Heal points. Tuesday night’s 3-0 win over Belfast gave the Tigers eight shutouts in 12 games.
“I think my defense is led by a couple senior leaders,” Gardiner coach Sharon Gallant said. “One is very under the radar: Emily Michaud is our left back. (She) is very solid and steady, consistently. She’s very quiet, very unassuming, and just does her job every single day.”
The other senior leader on defense is midfielder Abby Dyer, who is known more for her offense but has been a rock on defensive penalty corners. Couple them with players like center back Bryce Smith, and recent junior varsity call-up Mikayla Bourassa, and Gardiner has allowed just six goals all season.
Gardiner has a big game against Spruce Mountain, the No. 2 seed in Western B, at 3:15 p.m., Tuesday at Thomas College. Ironically, the Tigers are undefeated and untied against Class B opponents, but their loss (to Winslow) and their tie (against Mount View) came in games against Eastern C teams. Due to a scheduling quirk, Gardiner also doesn’t play Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference rival Oceanside this season. Oceanside is the No. 2 seed in Eastern B.
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Oak Hill also has a key game coming up soon. The Raiders are 12-0-1 and in first place in Western C. They’ll end their regular season on Friday at Lisbon, the No. 2 seed in Western C. Oak Hill defeated the Greyhounds, 4-0, back on Sept. 12. Since losing to the Raiders, Lisbon had allowed a total of three goals in nine games.
“Me and some of the girls went (Wednesday night) and scoped out Lisbon (against Winthrop),” Oak Hill coach Betsy Gilbert said. “It was great to see the girls analyzing the game and knowing what they have to do.”
Oak Hill went 7-7-1 last season, losing in the Western C quarterfinals.
“The girls, they have achieved their goals, and they still have some goals they want to achieve,” Gilbert said.
The Raiders have scored a whopping 64 goals this season. A lot of that is due to the midfield trio of Heather Hannigan, Danielle Samson and Kayla Veilleux.
“Those three are our key playmakers, to be able to feed that up front,” Gilbert said.
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The Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference championship games are scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 16 at Thomas College, with a rain date of Oct. 17. The KVAC is using the “crossover” format again this year, which means the No. 2 team in Class A will face the No. 2 team in Class B, followed by the No. 1 teams in each class in the championship game.
The runner-up game is slated for 5 p.m., with the championship game following at approximately 6:30. The seedings are determined by Heal points.
Although Winslow, Mount View and Maine Central Institute compete in Eastern C, they are considered part of the KVAC B. As of Wednesday evening, Winslow and Gardiner had the most points among KVAC B teams, while Lawrence, Skowhegan, and Messalonskee are close as the top three teams in the KVAC A.
The Mountain Valley Conference championship game is also scheduled for Oct. 16. That game will be played at 3:30 p.m., at St. Dominic. Oak Hill has the most points among MVC teams.
Matt DiFilippo — 861-9243
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