GARDINER — Scoring early, and often, has been one of the mottos of the Gardiner field hockey team this season.
The Tigers put that motto to work on Tuesday, scoring three goals in the first half on the way to a 3-2 win over Nokomis in a Class B North quarterfinal game at Hoch Field.
The No. 4 Tigers (12-3-0) will play the winner of No. 1 Belfast vs. No. 8 Erskine Academy on Saturday.
Two of Gardiner’s three goals came on penalty corners, including the first of the game, less than two minutes into regulation, when Avrey MacMaster tipped a hard shot from senior Gabi Sousa into the cage for a 1-0 lead.
“We knew, once we scored, it was going to entirely change the direction of the game,” Gardiner junior Davyn Swindells said. “Our whole motto is ‘Score early and score often.’ Once we score, we pretty much know we’ve got (the game).”
Gardiner scored its final two goals in the second quarter. Senior Taryn Nichols scored on a tip off a shot from junior Brynnlea Chaisson with 11 minutes left in the quarter for a 2-0 lead. Two minutes later, Swindells found open space in front of the cage, rebounding her own shot off No. 5 Nokomis (8-5-2) goalkeeper Eliya Drummond and knocking it in for a 3-0 lead.
“We were kind of known as a team that couldn’t finish on our corners last year,” Swindells said. “We got it together at practice… We’ve got them down. We’ve got the drives, we’ve got the tips. We’re doing good.”
“We’ve been talking a lot about having some urgency at the beginning of the game,” Gardiner head coach Jess Merrill said. “To see those early goals, they gave us great momentum.”
Nokomis managed to flip the offensive pressure late in the first half when Raegan King slipped a shot past goalkeeper Avery Croll to cut Gardiner’s lead to 3-1 just before halftime. Senior Addison Hawthorne scored the Warriors’ final goal with 11 seconds left in the game on a hard shot, 20 yards away from the cage.
“We did have a lot of good chances today,” Nokomis head coach Shaunessy Saucier said. “We started off a little flat but definitely picked it up in the second half.
“I’m super proud (of the season),” Saucier added. “I really like how we’re progressing (as a program) and really like how we play defense… We’ll try to generate some more possession (on offense) next year.”
The Tigers get the season sweep on the Warriors, winning 2-0 in the regular-season finale on Oct. 17.
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