FAIRFIELD — No one involved with the Lawrence field hockey program can remember the Bulldogs ever reaching the Eastern A final. Although it wasn’t the first time, it was memorable nonetheless.
Twice, Lawrence led by three goals but Messalonskee came storming back each time. Finally, time ran out and Lawrence held on for a 5-4 victory in Tuesday afternoon’s Eastern A semifinal.
“It was nerve-wracking,” said Lawrence junior Lauren Watson, who scored her team’s final three goals. “I’m actually kind of speechless. Words can’t really describe how amazing it is to play with all of these girls from different communities. It’s just incredible.”
No. 2 Lawrence (14-2) advances to the Eastern A final Thursday at the Weatherbee Complex in Hampden. The rotation for Thursday’s three Eastern Maine finals will be determined by the Maine Principals’ Association.
The Bulldogs edged Messalonskee twice in the regular season by 2-1 scores. Tuesday’s game started much differently as Lawrence led 3-0 before the game was 20 minutes old.
First, Kapriece Dahms did a quick self-start from the right side and sent the ball over to Watson in the middle. Watson found Dominique Lewis on the left post for the tap-in just 1 minute, 17 seconds into the game.
Nine and a half minutes later, Lewis almost made it 2-0, but her shot on the run skidded just wide left. But at 17:53, McKenna Rogers slid the ball over to the left side and Hallee Parlin punched it in for the goal.
Just 24 seconds later Messalonskee had a penalty stroke, but Lawrence goalie Emily Tozier batted it away. It was the first of three strokes Tozier would face in the game.
“The first one, I was like, ‘OK, time to get my head in the game. This is it,'” Tozier said. “The second one, I’m like, ‘OK, this is it.’ And the third one, I’m like, ‘Oh my God! This is ridiculous!'”
“Their goalie, can’t say enough about her,” Messalonskee coach Katie McLaughlin said. “She’s incredible.”
Lawrence moved ahead 3-0 with another great teamwork play. On a penalty corner, Lewis got the ball on the right wing, but her shot was blocked by Messalonskee flier Haley Lowell. Lewis regained possession and passed to Dahms, whose deflection bounced off the goalie’s pads. Watson was there to blast home the rebound with 10:05 left.
“They came out, they were fired up, and we just had to realize that wasn’t enough,” Robinson said. “We had to keep the intensity up. Those kids wanted it today.”
Messalonskee’s Nathalie St. Pierre got the Eagles back in the game when the converted a pass from Ally Corbett with 6:22 left in the half. But Watson scored 44 seconds later and it was 4-1. St. Pierre wouldn’t quit as she scored in the final minute. Tozier blocked her reverse shot on the left post, but St. Pierre drew Tozier off the post, then tucked a shot inside with 20.2 seconds remaining to make it 4-2 at the half.
“I knew they were a very capable team of coming back and beating us at any point,” Watson said. “That definitely scared us, but we had to keep our composure and everything, and we did it.”
There had already been more than enough action for a full game, but there were still 30 minutes left. Tozier blocked another stroke, but Corbett scored less than 90 seconds later to pull the Eagles within 4-3. Watson rocketed one in with 13:28 to go to make it 5-3, but after Tozier made a total of four saves on back-to-back penalty corners, Corbett scored top shelf on Messalonskee’s third stroke of the game, and it was 5-4 with 9:02 left.
Messalonskee had a few more chances, but Lawrence’s defense, especially Lilla Tilton-Flood, came up big on penalty corners. The Eagles had two corners in the final minute, and the second was played after time expired. When the officials called a foul on Messalonskee, the hectic, two-sided game was finally over. The last time the Eagles didn’t reach the Eastern A final was 2007.
“It’s been a very emotional roller coaster for us this month,” McLaughlin said. “I’m proud of them. Their best friend has passed away, and they’ve dealt with a lot. That showed that first half. Just mentally, their focus wasn’t there. I am so proud of them, because they really did a great job.”
Matt DiFilippo — 861-9243
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