SOUTH CHINA — The perennially strong Mount View field hockey team found itself in unfamiliar territory entering a Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference game Thursday against Erskine Academy.
The Mustangs (1-3) dropped their first three games of the season and badly needed a win. They got one, thanks to goals from McKenna Gibbs and Summer Brown coupled with some strong play at midfield in a 2-0 victory. Erskine fell to 1-3.
The Eagles played their best during the first few minutes of the game as they buzzed around the Mustang goal and picked up a couple of penalty corners. But they were unable put any shots on Mount View goalie Alexis Bowman (one save) and the Mustangs took control of the game.
“We lost like six seniors,” Gibbs said. “It hurt us a lot but we’re adjusting really well. We’re getting better and better every day, which is good.”
Gibbs scored her first goal of the season midway through the first half following a penalty corner.
“It was a corner that was supposed to go to me anyway but it kind of got compromised,” Gibbs said. “It went across the goal and someone passed it top me and I just pushed it into the goal.”
The Mustangs dominated the second half, putting a dozen shots on goal and great pressure on the Eagles defense and goalie Hannah Burns (10 saves).
“Last game I did some lineup changes and that seems to be working better for us,” Mount View coach Gloria Hewitt said. “I switched some people around and that seems to be making us a better team.”
One constant for the Mustangs has been the midfield play of Reanna Boulay, Gibbs and Rachelle Ravin, who combined to keep the Eagles pinned in their end of the field.
“That’s the strength of my team, right there,” Hewitt said, also citing center back Jessie Blanchette.
The Mustangs finished with 15 penalty corner to Erskine’s four, getting 11 of those in the second half. Burns kept things close with a couple of outstanding saves while her defense, led by Audrey Jordan and Aly Kennedy, had several key clears.
“We showed a lot of improvement over the last game,” Erskine coach Skip Chadbourne said. “Our offense kind of struggled. They kept us in the zone a lot, but over the last game it’s a lot of improvement. I’m very happy.”
The Mustangs finally capitalized on their 10th corner of the second when the ball came to Boulay and she crossed it to Brown who scored from six feet out to the left of Burns.
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