Natalie Brown of Nokomis, left, tries to move the ball down the field while Ailit Erdt of Hermon defends during a Class B North quarterfinal game Wednesday night at Bernatchez Field in Waterville. Dave Dyer/Kennebec Journal
WATERVILLE — A year ago, the Nokomis field hockey team ended its season with a loss in the Class B North quarterfinal round.
History would not repeat itself in 2022.
Instead, the No. 3 Warriors beat No. 6 Hermon in a B North quarterfinal Wednesday night at Bernatchez Field. The game was moved from Newport to Waterville due to poor field conditions from Wednesday’s storm.
“It feels really good,” Nokomis sophomore Madeleine Roundy said. “Especially since it was exactly a year ago today that we lost to Cony in the quarterfinals. It’s a really good feeling and I’m glad we worked to get here.”
Nokomis (10-4-1) will meet No. 2 Belfast (13-1-1) in the semifinal round Saturday at Point Lookout in Northport.
Hermon finished its season 12-3.
Roundy scored two goals and added an assist for the Warriors. Brianna Townsend, Myia SeeHusen and Ava Lovley also scored goals for Nokomis.
“I was hesitant with how our passes would look (on turf), because the surface is so much faster,” Nokomis head coach Shaunessy Saucier said. “We worked really hard on our passing game, making it look really crisp. The girls really clicked in.”
The Warriors kept the offensive pressure on Hermon throughout the game. The Warriors outshot the Hawks by a 20-0 margin and had a 10-0 advantage in penalty corners. Roundy scored both of her goals in the first half, and so did both Townsend and SeeHusen. Lovley added her goal on a tip in the third quarter.
“(We came in needing to) work as a team, trusting our teammates,” Roundy said. “Obviously, those quick passes (worked). We lifted each other up and we’re ready to play.”
Lydia Caron had 13 saves for Hermon.
Nokomis has won four games in a row, and five of its last six, a stretch that helped catapult the Warriors to the No. 3 seed.
“We’ve done a lot of team building, a lot of team bonding,” Roundy said. “I feel like a lot of small moments (during the season) have led to getting our team together.”
Nokomis played Belfast to a 2-2 tie during a regular season meeting Sept. 10 in Belfast.
“They have some really fantastic individual players and of course they have a whole strong team behind them,” Sauciet said. “But I loved the game we played against them, even though it ended in a tie. I like how we match up against them and I think it’s always a good, competitive game.”
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