LITCHFIELD — The Oak Hill field hockey team, says coach Betsy Gilbert, relies on a well-balanced offense to keep it rolling.
“No superstars,” Gilbert said. “In fact, all of my 10 field players have scored this season, and not just scored a little. Nine of them have five or more goals. It’s definitely uncommon. Usually, if you have four or five players who score, that’s a good season.”
The Raiders once again demonstrated their balance with a 4-0 victory over No. 8 Mountain Valley (5-10) in a Class C South quarterfinal game Wednesday at the Carrie Ricker School.
Four different players scored for top-seeded Oak Hill (14-1), which is scheduled to host No. 4 Lisbon (10-5) in a regional semifinal Friday at 3:30 p.m. — weather permitting.
The Greyhounds bounced No. 5 North Yarmouth Academy 3-1 on Wednesday.
“We played well,” Gilbert said. “We played as one team unit. We passed the ball well, which is important.”
Abby Asselin had a goal and two assists to lead the Raiders, who held a decisive advantage in penalty corners (8-3) and shots (18-2).
Hayden Spencer, Kiera Young and Zoe Buteau also scored for Oak Hill.
Young got things started when she scored off a penalty corner with 22:49 left in the first half.
“It came right to the top and she launched it in,” Gilbert said.
Spencer made it 2-0 about 15 minutes later when she scored off a corner.
The score stayed that way until Asselin scored with 20:25 left in regulation. Buteau capped the scoring about seven minutes later.
“We definitely spread it around,” Gilbert said. “We were in control. We were pretty much controlling the game. I wanted to get to another level with our passing. We focused on that (Wednesday).”
Gilbert added that defensive backs Lexi Fuller and Lindsey Wright shut the Falcons down.
“Any time they tried to penetrate, those girls were relentless,” she said.
Makenzie Thibeault had to make just one save to earn the shutout.
Alyssa Akers had 12 saves for the Falcons.
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