AUGUSTA — It was a matchup of two strong Eastern A field hockey teams. And just like the other games that fit that description, nothing seemed to go according to the script.

This time it was Cony, a team that lost by seven goals to Skowhegan in its previous game, rising up and keeping Lawrence out of the top spot in the league with a stunning 4-3 upset victory.

“We have a program shirt, and on the back of it, the theme of this year is, ‘Play for the girl who fell in love with the sport,'” said Cony senior Arika Brochu. “I strongly believe in that. I grew up playing field hockey — I started in kindergarten. So that means a lot to me, and I couldn’t be more proud of my team for coming out and playing like they did. Best all year, absolutely. I’m psyched.”

Brochu scored three goals and also starred defensively on penalty corners, while freshman Cari Hopkins had the other goal and fellow freshman Haley Ward dished out two assists.

“Today seemed to be one of those days where when there was an opportunity, we capitalized on it,” Cony coach Holly Daigle said. “And if we made a mistake, we were able to rebound. We never took our heads out of the game. I’m really proud of how hard the girls worked. They showed a lot of grit and heart.”

Cony (8-6) moved into fifth place in the final Eastern A heal points win the win, and will play at No. 4 Mt. Blue in the quarterfinals. Skowhegan went No. 1, while Lawrence is No. 2 and Messalonskee is third.

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By finishing second in Eastern A, Lawrence will face Gardiner in the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference runner-up game at 5 p.m.Thursday at Thomas College. Skowhegan plays Winslow for the KVAC championship at 6:30.

Cony had lost twice to Skowhegan by a combined score of 13-2, and also dropped a 4-1 decision to Messalonskee. But the Rams also lost a tough 3-2 game against Lawrence, and that was the team Lawrence saw again on Tuesday.

“I hope it’s a wake-up call,” Lawrence coach Shawna Robinson said. “All the credit goes to Cony. We didn’t play great. They did. I’m happy my girls fought back. But sometimes you just dig a hole too deep that you can’t dig yourself out of.”

That’s what happened in the first half. About a minute after Julia Nicol broke up a breakaway by Lawrence’s Lauren Watson, Brochu scored at the other end to put Cony up 1-0 with 21:21 left in the half. The Rams made it 2-0 with 7:27 remaining when Hopkins knocked one in from the left side.

Lawrence fought back with a goal by Hallee Parlin with 1:15 to go in the half. But just 1:04 into the second half, Brochu scored on a corner when her long drive caromed off the stick of a Lawrence defender and inside the left post for a 3-1 Cony lead. Entering Tuesday afternoon, the Bulldogs had allowed 10 goals in 13 games, and never more than two in one game.

Lawrence would have got within one at 27:05 were it not for some fine goaltending by Cony’s Madeline Lewis. The Bulldogs finally did get the score to 3-2 when Watson hit in a difficult shot from the right side with 16:22 to play.

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The Bulldogs had the next four penalty corners, but couldn’t score, and Cony’s Delaney Keithley blocked a shot on the last one. Then the Rams got a corner, and Cony was awarded a penalty stroke. With 3:15 left, Brochu placed her high shot under the crossbar and pumped her fist as the Rams took a 4-2 lead.

It still wasn’t over, as Alexis Chamberlain got Lawrence within a goal again with 1:19 still to go. But Cony earned a penalty corner with 30 seconds left, enabling the Rams to run out the clock. When they did, the Rams celebrated as a group, and their seven-goal loss five days earlier might as well have been 20 years ago.

“That’s the mentality that we need to remember,” Daigle said. “Arika said it. She’s like, ‘We need to remember this feeling right now.’ And we have this feeling because of the way we played today. This was a great way to end the regular season, and hopefully keep that momentum going into playoffs.”

The loss stung for Lawrence, although it stung a little less when the Bulldogs went in No. 2 when they were expecting to stay in third with the loss. Like Cony, Lawrence now has the chance to put one game very far into the past.

“The team that played today, I don’t think is the team that we are,” Robinson said. “Hopefully, this was our bad game, and we got it out of the way. We’re 12-2. That’s the best record our school’s ever had. We’re proud of that, but we’re not done by any means. We want to go as far as we can go.”

Matt DiFilippo — 861-9243

mdifilippo@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @Matt_DiFilippo


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