Cony hasn’t been able to beat one of the top teams in Eastern A field hockey this year, but the Rams are still improving. They’ve gone 1-1-2 over their last four games, and stand at 3-6-3 overall.

“Really, I’d say our last four games has been our best stretch of the season,” Cony coach Holly Daigle said. “They’ve been our best team, and a lot of our best individual efforts I’ve seen all season. That’s been exciting to see, and the girls can feel it too.”

In last year’s Eastern A semifinals, the Rams led eventual state champion Skowhegan 2-1 in the second half before losing 5-2. Cony’s numbers are down this year, and there have been some un-Cony like scores. The Rams lost 9-0 to Messalonskee and 14-0 to Skowhegan. Still, Daigle said her players are giving “outstanding” effort.

“On a good day, I’ve got 17 healthy girls program-wide,” Daigle said. “A lot of them are contributing each game, and then most of them are putting time in the JV game too. The girls have just worked so hard. It’s been nice to see us jelling the last half of the season.”

* * *

There’s not much more the Skowhegan field hockey team can do in terms of regular season success. The Indians have won all 12 of their games, and outscored their opponents, 107-0.

The overall quality of Eastern A is down this year, and that combined with Skowhegan’s play has made for a lot of 10-0 games. Coach Paula Doughty said the Indians have the ability to remain focused.

“I think it’s the system that we have,” she said. “We have always had the same system. We take it one game at a time. I know that sounds very trite, and I know a lot of coaches talk about that, but that’s how we operate.

“Even when we’re playing a team that may not be as strong, every team has an individual goal. After the game, we assess whether they meet those goals. We never talk about how many goals we scored.”

The Indians do recognize their offensive balance. Senior Makaela Michonski, who had 33 goals last season, has 32 this year. The hard part for Skowhegan’s opponents is that Michonski’s teammates have combined for 75 goals, so it’s not as simple as just stopping her.

Sarah Finnemore has 23 goals, and Allison Lancaster has scored 14. Rylie Blanchet and Renee Wright each have 10 goals. Brooke Michonski has nine.

The lopsided games means the starters are rarely playing typical starter minutes. But if they have to do that in the playoffs, Doughty believes they’ll be fine.

“They’re in good condition,” she said. “They work hard in practice every day. We scrimmage in practice every day. They run every day.”

* * *

Dexter coach Kristy Veazie resigned shortly before the start of the regular season and is now an assistant at Nokomis. The new Dexter coach is Kylie Damon who was a standout defensive player at Skowhegan. The Tigers are 10-1-0 this fall and in first place in the Eastern C Heal points.

“So far, this year has been excellent,” Damon said. “The kids have been awesome. The school district has been supportive. The district, the community, the way they support their sports teams — it’s great.”

Damon’s assistant coach is her sister, Whitney, who also played defense at Skowhegan. Kylie said she is working mostly with the offense, and Whitney handles the defense and goalies.

“It’s been a great experience for both of us, and I’ve really enjoyed working with her so far,” Kylie said.

Matt DiFilippo — 861-9243

mdifilippo@centralmaine.com

 

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