Field hockey: Resilient Cony and Nokomis play to tough draw

AUGUSTA — Two teams walked away from Cony High School on Monday afternoon feeling like they could have added another number to the win column. Two teams also walked away from the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class B field hockey contest recognizing there is still work to do.

In the end, Cony and visiting Nokomis split the Heal points with a 1-1 tie following a pair of end-to-end overtime sessions.

“It was a great game,” Nokomis junior Brianna Townsend said. “It was a good game played by both teams. Really strong, really fast. I think we’re happy with our performance.”

Cony's Maci Freeman, right, and Nokomis' Madison Randlett compete for the ball during field hockey action Monday in Augusta. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel

The Rams (6-4-1) took the lead with a first-quarter goal from freshman Abby Morrill, while the Warriors (6-3-1) countered with an early third-quarter strike from sophomore Ava Lovely.

“The girls worked so hard. Both teams played hard,” Cony coach Holly Daigle said. “Yeah, you look back and say, ‘I wish we would have walked away with a win.’ But it could have gone the other way, too. They’re a really good team, and this was a good matchup for us.”

Where extra time featured breakaways at both ends of the field while playing 7-on-7, regulation proved a bit more of a slog with its traditional 11-on-11 format.

Cony had plenty of momentum prior to halftime and used its penalty corners to create havoc and chaos in front of Nokomis goalie Eliya Drummond (seven saves). The Rams initiated the scoring with Morrill hammering home a blocked shot from teammate Tatiana Roque.

After the break, Nokomis found its stride.

“At halftime, coach gave us a little pep talk,” Townsend said. “The energy we came out with in the second half was much better.”

Nokomis’ Abbie Mitchell, front, digs the ball away from Cony’s Mallory Audette, behind on knee, during field hockey action Monday in Augusta. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel

The Warriors weren’t as threatening off their corners as their hosts, but they were extremely effective at moving the ball to wide areas through transition and generating scoring chances. Townsend and Natalie Brown were both thwarted by acrobatic saves from Cony’s Taylor Prebit (six saves).

Though they had chances late in regulation, the Warriors had to settle for the draw to begin a four-game work week in their first overtime game of the season.

“I think it was a really gritty game, and both teams played really hard,” Nokomis coach Shaughnessy Saucier. “We’re really trying to refine our game right now. We played a great game against Skowhegan last week, so we’re building off of that.”

Grit is the word Daigle has often used to describe her own squad.

“That’s the word I would use to describe them,” said Daigle, whose team plays three games this week, including one with Oxford Hills on Tuesday.

“They fight, they dig and they’re scrappy. I’ll take it. They’re playing with intensity and jelling more and more as the season goes on. I’m really proud of them for that.”