WATERVILLE — According to Foxcroft Academy goalie Emma Bither, playing field hockey in the downpour beats playing in the heat any day. And even if the game ends in a 1-1 tie, nothing beats ending her high school career by playing in the annual McNally Senior All-Star game.

“It’s hard to get a lot of recognition in such a small town, and especially in a Class C environment, but I think just changing the stereotype that you can get out of a small town and make a name for yourself and change the game of field hockey one game at a time is just amazing,” Bither said.

Even though Bither was nervous before Saturday’s game at Thomas College, given her months-long break from the sport, she felt honored to showcase the talent present in Class C — Maine field hockey’s smallest division. The senior certainly left an impression with a six-save performance, good enough to be named the Northern team MVP.

Nine seniors from Class C programs were named to North/South all-star teams, but only three were present for Saturday’s game at Thomas College. Bither was the only North representative, while Riley Hoyle of Lisbon and Rylee Cooper of Telstar represented the South.

Melissa Perkins, who has won four straight Class C titles as Winthrop’s head coach and coached the Southern team on Saturday, was not surprised by the impact of the smaller school players.

“They’re all fantastic players… I only had one sub, but I could rotate my subs anywhere,” Perkins said. “They all went out, and they could play anywhere and they stepped up. There was no weak link on our squad.”

The other six Class C players who were on the all-star rosters were Lexi Vafiades and McKenzie Clay of Dexter, Emily Woods of Dirigo, Taurence Tibbetts and Jade Graham of Hall-Dale, and Madeline Wagner of Winthrop.

Hoyle was excited that her last field hockey game for the foreseeable future was “finally” with players she had long scrimmaged and competed against. It was also an added bonus that she could test her skills against some of the state’s top players from Classes A and B, including Miss Maine Field Hockey winner Lucy Johnson of Cheverus and Miss Maine finalist Ayla Lagasse of Biddeford.

“I do feel like I held my own,” said Hoyle, a left winger for the Greyhounds. “I feel like I did step up a little bit, and I played some positions out there that I had never played before, so it was really fun.”

Johnson was named the Southern team MVP due to her presence in all three parts of the field and her third-quarter assist to Sanford’s Audrey Payeur. Skowhegan’s Ellie Quinn tied it up in the fourth quarter after slotting a pass from Belfast’s Breanna Shorey.

Although the game was tied after 44 minutes of play (the third and fourth quarters were shortened from 12 to 10 minutes), the McNally Senior All-Star game did not go into overtime or penalty corners, in an attempt to leave time for the second half of the Maine Field Hockey Festival. The afternoon slate of 7-on-7 games was eventually rained out.

The rain did bring about Hoyle’s favorite moment of the day, when the South team was singing and dancing together to stay warm during halftime. The sideline moments were some of Bither’s favorites as well, especially when the North team was discussing its game plan at the beginning.

“We all just look up and know that we’re all from different places and we’re all from different counties and divisions,” Bither said. “But it doesn’t matter, because we are all out on the field right now making memories.”