READFIELD — Last year, Maranacook fell one goal shy of a spot in the regional final.

Now a year wiser and a lot hungrier, Maranacook knew what needed to be done to take the next step.

Case in point, senior Natalie Wicks, who took note of how a scoring opportunity might come and didn’t hesitate to capitalize when it did.

Wicks’ header 7:30 into Friday’s Western Class C semifinal was all fifth-seeded Maranacook would need in a 2-0 win over No. 9 Hall-Dale at Ricky Gibson Field of Dreams.

The Black Bears (13-3-1) will host No. 7 Sacopee Valley in the regional final at 3 p.m. Wednesday.

Wicks scored off a Lillie McLaughlin throw-in that was deflected by another Maranacook player and came up on one big hop in front of her.

“The last few throw-ins had bounced right through to the keeper, so I was, like, I’ve got to get in there to get on the keeper,” Wicks said. “That’s just kind of what happened. I knew it was going to be a stretch so I went in with my head in it. It was just really lucky.”

Maranacook controlled possession much of the rest of the first half and caught a break when a Hall-Dale defender’s kick bounced back into the Bulldogs’ net with a little over five minutes remaining. Catherine Sanborn was credited with the goal.

Co-captains Wicks, Sage Hyland and goalie Elizabeth D’Angelo led a strong all-around game by the Black Bears, who outshot the Bulldogs, 11-7.

“They seemed to put it together today,” Maranacook coach Mike Morin said. “Every part of the field they were hard to the ball. They passed well. They kept their structure well.”

“Half of our team is seniors this year, so we know what we have to do to win, and what we have the ability to do,” Hyland said.

Led by Wicks, Kristen Hall, Rachel Tooth, Molly Searway and Lindsey Perkins, the Black Bears kept Hall-Dale (11-6) from getting its short-passing, give-and-go game in sync.

“They pack it in and they shut it down,” said Hall-Dale coach Guy Cousins, whose team upset top-seeded Madison on Wednesday. “They’re physical and they run through the ball.”

“I think we’re a little bit more disciplined this year than we were last year,” D’Angelo said. “We’re keeping our structure really well, especially on defense. We’re moving the ball well around people. We’re communicating better and we’re finishing better.”

An injury to junior Lilly Ly midway through the second half further hampered the Bulldogs offensively. But they already had some of the air taken from under them by a stifling Maranacook defense.

“We’re one of four teams playing in Class C West today, so we had it better than a lot of other teams,” Cousins said. “We overcame a lot of injuries. It was only at the end of the season that we actually played four consecutive games with the same lineup. It’s the effort that defines the team, not the outcome.”

Randy Whitehouse — 621-5638

rwhitehouse@mainetoday.com

Twitter: @RAWmaterial33

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