Senior midfielder Adelle Surette stared down uncertainty and refused to relinquish her dream of becoming Oak Hill High School’s all-time leading scorer in field hockey.

After the Raiders (4-0) were given the green light to participate in a brief season, Surette had seven games left on the 10-game schedule to break the record.

The midfielder became the Raiders’ all-time leading scorer on Thursday afternoon in a game against Boothbay. She punched in her unassisted, school-record 53rd goal in Oak Hill’s 2-1 victory. Kylee Veilleux, a 2016 graduate, held the record with 52 goals for over three years.

“I was really grateful to have the opportunity to take (the record),” Surette said. “I always had it in the back of my head that it would be a cool thing to do. 

“At first I saw I had done 18 goals my sophomore year. I thought, ‘Why, I can actually do this,'” she said, “and last year at the end of the season, we realized that I was only seven goals away. I just couldn’t wait till the next season for when I could try and do it.”

“This girl has been very determined,” Oak Hill field hockey coach Betsy Gilbert said. “She set goals way back for herself to be able to make that milestone. She had this mindset for four years that she going to do what she had to do to break that record.”

A proud Gilbert described Surette’s 53rd goal against Boothbay.

“It was on a corner,” Gilbert explained. “We pushed the ball out wide and we pushed the ball back up to the top and Adelle was waiting at the top, and she took a rocket shot right from there from the right and it went to the far left corner right off the boards. It was a perfect shot.”

But Surette knows her accomplishment wasn’t a solo act and gave quite a testimonial to her fellow Raiders.

“I just want to say I couldn’t have done it without my teammates,” she said. “They were a huge part of me reaching my goals, supper supportive and always upbeat. They are always coming out to practice, pushing each other hard, making each other better. The goalies are always working hard.”

The pressure is off Surette and she can enjoy the rest of the season without pressing thoughts of topping a school record.

“I put (the pressure) on myself,” she said. “But first I took the pressure off and just played my game. The goal just came naturally. It is a big relief.”

Surette, who is taking a hard look at studying nursing and playing field hockey at the University of Southern Maine but keeping her options open, realizes the dreams of thousands of high school seniors were dashed when COVID-19 arrived in the United States.

“My heart goes out to players who didn’t get a chance, but I am just really grateful that I got that opportunity,” she said. 

Gilbert and the team were concerned the coronavirus would interfere with Surette’s opportunity to play this season.

“We had our doubts along the way, but everything just worked out in our favor to continue to play,” Gilbert explained. “That was the greatest thing that we could ask for this year.”

Gilbert said it has been privilege coaching the unselfish Surette, who has now left her own legacy in Oak Hill field hockey.

“This kid is one of the hardest working kids out there,” Gilbert said. “She is soft-spoken. She goes out on the field and she is all business and she gets it done. She is a true leader and an inspiration.”

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