YARMOUTH — Playing field hockey in a snowstorm was a new experience for Skowhegan. But on Saturday night, the Indians took to the white stuff like Seth Wescott.
The Indians completely dominated Marshwood in the Class A state championship game at Yarmouth High School, winning 5-0 and holding the Hawks without a penalty corner or shot on goal. It was Skowhegan’s second consecutive state title and 10th in the last 11 years.
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“(Skowhegan) spread the field out,” Marshwood coach Lisa Truesdale said. “It was nice passing. They used a lot of back passes and transfers. That’s the way hockey’s supposed to be played.”
The snow began before player introductions, and continued throughout the game. Instead of slowing down Skowhegan’s fast-paced attack, the snow showed how much the Indians were dominating the game. In the second half, Skowhegan’s offensive half of the field was filled with skid marks and other signs of foot traffic. Marshwood’s offensive half of the field was filled with virtually undisturbed snow.
“The snow added a really pretty effect to the game,” said Skowhegan sophomore Allison Lancaster, who scored two goals. “We were just pumped anyway, so we weren’t going to let any snow bother us.”
“It’s my first snowstorm I’ve ever coached in,” said Skowhegan coach Paula Doughty, who has won 420 games in her career.
The Indians seemed to be feeling out Marshwood in the opening minutes. One key factor is that Skowhegan is sometimes thrown off by teams that like to drive the ball hard down the field. Marshwood did that, but the Indians stayed with their game, and it paid off.
“(Marshwood’s) cross drives were something,” Doughty said. “I think the key to our success was, early on, we started picking them off. If they’d have gone through, that would have changed the tempo of the game.”
After a couple near-misses in the opening minutes, the Indians took the lead for good when Sarah Finnemore drilled home a shot from the top of the circle on a penalty corner.
That came with 14:26 left in the first half, and the Indians made it 2-0 just 2:32 later. This time Finnemore took the inbounds pass from Jessie Skillings and slid a pass over to Lancaster, who nailed a straight-on shot inside the right post.
“That tends to be the way with kids,” Doughty said. “You get that first one, and you tend to relax and get in that groove. It’s getting that first one that’s the hard one.”
It took less than four minutes for Skowhegan to score again, with Makaela Michonski tipping in a shot. It was 3-0 at halftime, and the game was essentially over.
“We were certainly used to scoring first (and) hadn’t had that happen in a long time,” Truesdale said. “Did that rattle us? I’m sure. It definitely was not our game that we’re used to.”
Lancaster and Michonski each added their second goal of the game in the second half. The Indians thus completed another magnificent season, one in which they scored a school-record 116 goals and allowed 10 in 18 games, and again left no doubt that they are the best field hockey program in the state.
“We have 24 girls that never stop playing,” Skillings said, “and they are just fantastic.”
Matt DiFilippo — 861-9243
mdifilippo@centralmaine.com
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