Field hockey: Winthrop pulls away from Oak Hill to advance to C South final

LEWISTON — A balanced scoring attack carried Winthrop past Oak Hill 6-0 in a Class C South semifinal contest Saturday.

Five Ramblers scored goals, led by Bella Littler, who netted two, in the victory.

“I think it’s pretty incredible,” Littler said of Winthrop’s scoring depth. “I think we are all strong in our own way. I am pretty excited for this season to keep going.”

No. 1 Winthrop (13-2) will face No. 2 Lisbon (13-3) in the regional final Wednesday in Biddeford.

Isabella Folsom scored the first goal by dribbling the ball into the circle and firing a shot that beat Oak Hill goalie Sierra Lane for a 1-0 lead 78 seconds into the game.

“That was a delight for us that we started off quickly,” Winthrop coach Sharon Coulton said. “We felt like we didn’t play with as much energy in previous games. So we wanted to come out with energy.”

Lane made a handful of saves in the first quarter for the No. 5 Raiders (6-10), to keep the score 1-0.

“(Lane) is one of the hardest working girls we have on the team,” Oak Hill coach Lexi Fuller said. “She always looking for drills at practice to make her better. I will say all of our girls played with heart today. It wasn’t the outcome we wanted, but I am proud of them for playing with heart.”

The Ramblers had another fast start in the second when Littler scored one minute into the quarter, increasing the Ramblers’ lead to 2-0.

“Bella was everywhere, as was Izzy (Folsom),” Coulton said. “They covered a lot of ground. Yes, (the scoring) was balanced with nice passing sequences, especially between Bella and Madeline (Wagner). … It was very nice to see those passing sequences between the two of them.”

Wagner had two assists, and Folsom contributed one.

Lauryn Wood stretched the lead to 3-0 when Lane tried to kick the ball away from the goal line, but Wood poked it into the goal before Lane cleared it 5:20 into the second.

Wood also had an assist on Folsom’s goal.

Lane (12 saves) was aggressive in the circle and made more saves on Winthrop shooters before halftime.

The Ramblers had three penalty corners to start the third quarter but none generated a shot on the goal.

Lane made back-to-back saves about midway through the third to keep the deficit at 3-0. That included stopping Littler on a partial breakaway with under three minutes left in the period.

Winthrop scored two quick goals midway through the fourth. Julia Letourneau put the Ramblers up 4-0 and Madeline Wagner stretched the lead to 5-0.

Littler notched her second goal with under five minutes to play for a 6-0 lead.

Winthrop goalie Madison Weymouth made her only two saves of the game in the final minute of the game.

“Offensively, we tried to get our passing going,” Fuller said. “(Winthrop) is a very hard team to get the passing going against. It’s very hard to find a strategy. We had a few times where we were able to do some passing and get (the ball) down the field.”