3 min read

READFIELD — The Maranacook/Winthrop scored, and scored, and kept scoring to kick off its Class C playoff run with a victory Friday.

Eight different players scored for the third-seeded Black Bears, as they rolled to an 11-6 quarterfinal victory over No. 6 North Yarmouth Academy at Ricky Gibson Field of Dreams. Junior Alice Ferran led Maranacook/Winthrop (11-4) with three goals, while sophomore Cooper Davis had two goals. Emerson Davis, Mya St. Pierre, Stella Stewart, Sienna Beauchesne, Eve Ariskin and Kate Parker each added scores for the Black Bears.

“It feels so good, we’ve been working on (winning) this game for a really long time,” Ferran said. “To come out with a win feels so good, especially for the seniors, who didn’t want to make it their last game. We’re really excited.”

The Black Bears will meet No. 2 Lincoln Academy (11-4) in the divisional final on Tuesday at Fuller Field in Augusta. The Eagles beat No. 7 Morse in their quarterfinal game on Thursday.

Advertisement

Maranacook/Winthrop reached the Class C divisional final last year, falling 7-5 to Wells.

The Panthers finish the season 7-8. Lyla Casey scored three goals, while freshman midfielder Cody Strawbridge scored twice for NYA.

How did they get there?

• The Black Bears won with a relentless offensive attack. NYA took a 3-2 lead with 3:09 left in the first quarter, but Maranacook/Winthrop responded with seven straight goals to close out the first half and led 9-3 at halftime. Seven players scored in the first half for Maranacook.

“It feels really good that we have that many people available to score,” Ferran said. “We don’t just have one (scorer), we really do play as a team. Our culture is really good together, and it shows on the field with many people scoring and not being selfish.”

Added Maranacook/Winthrop coach Zach Stewart: “We work every practice, everybody gets hundreds of touches. Everything starts with a pass, pass, push. There’s two different passes before we do any (play). We showed today the hard work these girls put into that and applied it on the field.”

• The Black Bears managed to balance their offensive attack with strong goaltending, rotating both senior Devyn Eliasen and freshman Willow Woodford. Both were strong in net, particularly Woodford, who turned away three shots in the final two minutes of the first half.

Advertisement

“Three months before the season, we had no goalies,” Stewart said. “To have Devyn, who played for us a little while ago, and Willow, who is going to be growing with the program. What Willow did in the second quarter, having her hands forward, making steps, taking shots off the helmet and still staying in there. And she’s only a freshman. I’m so pumped for her.”

• NYA ran into foul trouble in the second half. The Panthers accumulated four penalties by the third period and had to play the remainder of the game with a player down.

Statistical leaders

• Maranacook/Winthrop: Alice Ferran (3 goals), Cooper Davis (2 goals).

• NYA: Lyla Casey (3 goals), Cody Strawbridge (2 goals)

Dave Dyer is in his second stint with the Kennebec Journal/Morning Sentinel. Dave was previously with the company from 2012-2015 and returned in late 2016. He spent most of 2016 doing freelance sports...

Join the Conversation

Please sign into your CentralMaine.com account to participate in conversations below. If you do not have an account, you can register or subscribe. Questions? Please see our FAQs.