AUGUSTA — The last time the Cony field hockey team played Skowhegan, it lost by eight goals.
So in one sense, Tuesday’s 2-2 double overtime tie against the defending Class A state champions felt pretty good. In another, not so much, because the visiting Indians tied the game on Elizabeth York’s goal with 32 seconds left in regulation.
“We didn’t want to dwell on that,” Cony coach Holly Daigle said of the late goal. “There were two overtimes and we played tough. That one was tough with 32 seconds, but I could not be more proud of the team.”
The Indians (3-1-1) were equally frustrated since they held a decided territorial edge and were unable to capitalize on nine penalty corners in the second half. The Rams (2-1-2) came up with two strong individual plays, from freshman Sophie Whitney and senior Delaney Keithley, for their second-half goals. York scored Skowhegan’s first goal with 4:47 left to play in regulation to tie the game at 1-1.
“It’s so uplifting to see everyone on the team wanting it, whether it’s our offensive line, our mid-line, our defense, our goalie,” Keithley said. “We’ve come a long way in feeding off each other, everyone giving the same intensity.”
The Indians finished with 20 penalty corners to Cony’s five, but this didn’t translate to many shots on goal for the Indians, who held an 8-7 edge. Cony’s defense was a collaborative effort led by Keithley.
“She commands the field really well and she has great stick work,” Daigle said. “But today I thought she did a tremendous job on defensive corners, breaking up the initial plays.”
The Indians came up empty on five straight penalty corners during a three-minute span in the second half. Daigle called timeout and within 20 seconds the Rams were on the board, thanks to Whitney who picked up the ball near midfield, dodged two defenders and beat Indians goalie Leah Savage (six saves).
The 1-0 score held for 14 minutes until York, a sophomore midfielder, drove in a rebound of Kealey Bowman’s shot. Two and half minutes later, the Rams retook the lead on Keithley’s goal following a penalty corner. The senior midfielder took a pass from Olivia Varney, dribbled right and launched a long tough-angle shot to the far corner of the cage.
“There comes a time in the circle where the only thing on your mind is, ‘I want that cage,'” Keithley said. “I want the sound of the ball hitting the back. Sometimes that’s just enough to take that angle and make it into a great shot.”
The Indians stormed the Cony end in the final two minutes and finally came away with the tying goal when York rapped another rebound past goalie Jacki Carlton (seven saves). The teams played seven on seven for two eight-minute sudden-death overtime periods. The Rams put three shots on goal, but the Indians had the best chance to score when Cony senior captain Julia Nicol stopped a point blank shot in the first overtime after Carlton had been pulled out of position.
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