THORNDIKE — When she played middle school field hockey, Devan Burgess was a goalie. As a freshman on the Mount View High School team a few years ago, Burgess played back.
“I was a terrible back,” Burgess acknowledged.
Last season, Mount View coach Gloria Hewett decided to move Burgess up to forward. It’s a move that’s made Burgess and the Mustangs better. A senior, Burgess scored both goals in a 2-0 Class C North quarterfinal win over Maranacook on Tuesday afternoon.
No. 3 Mount View, now 10-5, will face No. 2 Dexter in the regional semifinals Saturday. No. 6 Maranacook ends the season at 5-10.
Burgess scored both the game’s goals in the first half. The first came with 26:54 left in the half off a pass from Maddy Knowlton. The second goal was unassisted, coming with 4:46 left in the half.
“I love playing forward. I can’t imagine going back and playing defense again,” Burgess said.
Added Hewett: “She has learned so much. We turned her into a forward, and she’s amazing. She’s fast, and she’s pretty patient. She’s gotten really good at tipping it.”
At halftime, the Mustangs were loose and laughing. As was the case in the first half, Mount View played outstanding defense in the second. The Black Bears were never able to put together any sustained offensive pressure to generate scoring chances. Maranacook had just three penalty corners in the game.
“They did a really good job at sending the ball right across the circle. We haven’t really run into that a whole lot,” Maranacook coach Ashley Work said. “They got great drives across and we’re not used to it reaching the other side of the cage that fast.”
It was Mount View’s seventh consecutive win and sixth consecutive shutout. The Mustangs haven’t allowed a goal since a 3-1 win over Erskine on Sept. 20.
“I have a strong defense. Lindsey (Mattingly), she’s got a great stick, and Alyvia (Ripley), she doesn’t let anything by,” Hewett said. “They were tenacious. I don’t think they gave up at all.”
Travis Lazarczyk — 861-9242
Twitter: @TLazarczykMTM
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.