WATERBORO — Oak Hill sophomore midfielder Zoe Buteau finally found some free space near the goal and didn’t miss.

Buteau drove in the winning goal 2:56 into the first sudden death overtime to give the top-seeded Raiders their second straight Class C South field hockey championship with a 3-2 victory over St. Dominic on Wednesday at Massabesic High School.

For most of the game, the St. Dom’s defense was tightly packed around its goalie, Abby Slonina, either deflecting shots or knocking away passes, which often prevented Oak Hill to get a shot off. But in overtime, in which each team uses six field players, space opens up. Buteau collected a pass from the right wing by sophomore Lexi Faucher and found herself in a rare one-on-one with Slonina.

“I just wanted to score and Lexi (Faucher) just gave the pass to me,” said Buteau, a sophomore midfielder who also scored the Raiders’ first goal to tie the game, 1-1. “I was like, ‘I don’t know what side to go for but I might as well just take a risk and go for a shot.’ I went for a corner.”

Oak Hill (16-1) will meet Maine Central Institute in the Class C state final Saturday at McMann Field in Bath. The game is a rematch of the state final last season, which MCI won.

Oak Hill coach Betsy Gilbert says her team is better prepared to handle a state championship test.

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“Last year when they went into it was just trying to fight through all those nerves,” Gilbert said. “I think this year they’re going to come in there a little more confident. They know what to expect.”

St. Dominic (13-3-1) appeared headed to its second state title game and first since 2006 after Paige Cote’s goal put it ahead 2-1 with 21:05 left in the game. Cote slapped in a deflection off a hard drive by Kylie Leavitt off a penalty corner.

For the next several minutes, the Saints — who have one senior on the roster — were able to control the middle of the field. Forwards Cote and Hannah Trottier-Braun were able to quickly push the ball upfield.

“We knew coming in it was going to be a close game, two evenly matched teams,” St. Dominic coach Brian Kay said. “We had opportunities, they had opportunities.”

Oak Hill tied the score with 2:58 to play on a quick counter attack that Maegan Sheehy converted, with freshman substitute Desirae Dumais getting the assist shortly after entering the game.

“There wasn’t really anyone on me at the time,” Sheehy said. “They just sent it across and I really couldn’t have scored without the rest of my team.”

In the first half, St. Dominic struck first when Callie Samson swept in a bouncing ball 5:54 into the game.

Buteau tied the score with 12:26 left in the half.


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