YARMOUTH — In a lot of ways, Winthrop did exactly what it wanted to in the Class C field hockey state final.

The Ramblers wanted to increase their scoring chances, and they did. They wanted to play well on turf against a North Yarmouth Academy team that has more experience on that surface. It’s safe to say Winthrop did that as well.

Additional Photos

FIGHT TILL THE END: Winthrop’s Liz Glover, left, fights NYA’s Katie Millett for control of the ball near midfield during the second half of the Class C state championship game Saturday at Yarmouth High School. Maine Sunday Telegram photo by Gabe Souza

But what Winthrop couldn’t do was get quite enough shots on its scoring chances, or penetrate NYA’s defensive wall. So after regulation and two scoreless overtimes, the game went to penalty corners, and NYA’s Olivia Madore deflected in a goal on the second round of corners to give the Panthers a 1-0 victory at Yarmouth High School.

In a 1-0 victory over Dexter in the Eastern C final, Winthrop had one penalty corner. Dexter had 12.

The Ramblers aimed to fix that problem, and in regulation against NYA (14-4-0), Winthrop had 13 penalty corners — including five in a row late in the second half — while NYA had zero.

“We have to be happy about that,” Winthrop coach Sharon Coulton said. “That was one of the things that we said we wanted to focus on. We needed to give ourselves more chances to score, so we concentrated on that this week.”

Winthrop (13-3-2) could not execute many of those penalty corners quickly enough to get good shots, and never got a rebound shot on any of the corners. Aside from the corners, the game was mainly played between the 25-yard lines, and the Ramblers did not have the always-knocking-on-the-door, sustained-offensive-charge kind of flow that their 13-0 edge in corners would suggest. At the end of regulation, each team had five shots.

“The kids took some really good shots that didn’t quite go,” Coulton said. “We tried to think about lifting the ball a little bit more.”

“We put a lot of emphasis on support throughout the field, and the main word being ‘recovery,’ whether that’s for getting back on defense or whether that’s for the defense getting back on offense,” NYA forward Katie Millett said. “We definitely struggled with putting the emphasis on offense today, but, I mean, we won the game. Whatever happened, that’s fine for me.”

The two eight-minute, 7-on-7 overtimes were much more wide open and exciting than the play in regulation. Winthrop’s Lauren Kaiser and Mary Claire Blanchard each had shots go just wide of the cage, and Ramblers goalie Alyssa Arsenault was steady when called on to make a play. Winthrop back Jess Scott also made a key play when she broke up a 2-on-1 NYA rush.

Neither team could score on its first penalty corner. NYA got four chances, but Winthrop never even got to set up, because the inbounds pass went past the 25 to automatically end the corner.

On NYA’s second corner, Winthrop was able to get the ball away from the cage initially. But Kayla Rose drove the ball back at the cage, and Madore directed it in for the goal.

Winthrop still had a chance, but had to score on its penalty corner to extend the game. Millett blocked a shot, carefully controlled the ball and dribbled it past the 25 to end the game.

It seemed fitting that Millett’s play clinched the win for the Panthers. Millett was the senior and driving force behind NYA’s third state title in four years.

“She’s pushed us so hard, all season, (every) practice,” Madore said. “She brought us here.”

Winthrop had to settle for its first regional title since 1989. The Ramblers certainly have enough returning talent to be very competitive again next season.

“Fantastic season,” Coulton said. “We have two seniors we’re going to miss, but just two.”

Matt DiFilippo — 861-9243

mdifilippo@centralmaine.com

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