Foxcroft field hockey team winning the numbers game

DOVER-FOXCROFT — Even as seniors from the Foxcroft Academy field hockey team were still gathering their gear after a Class C North playoff victory last week, the next generation of Ponies already had taken over the field to get in as much practice as possible before the fading autumn sun disappeared.

The SeDoMoCha Middle School team had its own playoff game to get ready for, after all.

That shift change of sorts bodes well for the continuing importance of the sport in this community after an aberrational dip in participation at the high school level just a year ago.

The 2015 Foxcroft Academy roster included only 15 players, but it did not stop the Ponies from making their annual playoff run — in that case, to the regional semifinals.

This year, a 14-member freshman class has increased the high school roster to 25 players, enough to restore its junior varsity schedule after a one-year absence and to restore coach Stephanie Smith’s varsity team to prominence.

Standing 15-0 after last week’s 7-0 quarterfinal victory over Penobscot Valley Conference rival Hermon, Foxcroft joined two-time defending Class B state champion York as the only undefeated, untied teams statewide this year.

“We anticipated a lot of the success because we have a lot of good and experienced players,” said Becca Anderson, one of five seniors on the squad. “But we also knew we had a lot of underclassmen coming up, so we weren’t 100 percent sure what we were going to have.”

The top-ranked Ponies have dominated the PVC this fall, outscoring their opponents 78-8.

Senior Alli Bourget ranks among the state’s leading scorers with 38 goals, but the offense boasts balance — freshman Cassidy Marsh has contributed 18 goals.

“There’s a lot of talent on this team,” said Smith, the fifth-year head coach at her alma mater. “We’ve got a lot of skill, and we have speed, a lot of speed. I personally think we’re difficult to defend because it’s not just one player, it’s many.”

That offense has been complemented by a defense that has posted 11 shutouts so far this fall and took a streak of six-consecutive shutouts into the regional semifinal against No. 4 Lawrence of Fairfield.

“I think we’ve gotten a lot better defensively,” said Foxcroft back Lexi Raymond, one of five senior captains along with Anderson, twin sisters Alli Bourget and Abbi Bourget, and Kilee Hutchinson. “And our offense is always ready, sticks down and cutting toward the goal and being ready on the post.”

Another factor in the team’s success to date has been the experience gained by last year’s freshman class, which had to contribute immediately to a 2015 roster that had just three seniors, six juniors and one sophomore.

“I didn’t really know how much of a big deal it was to play varsity as a freshman,” said Cailin Seavey, now a sophomore midfielder for the Ponies. “As a freshman you’re expected to come in, make some mistakes, and maybe get a few minutes here and there on varsity.

“But I think being thrown into it was for the better because we learned what our coach expected from us and what our teammates expected,” she said.

Seavey was one of four sophomores who started against Hermon, along with goalie Abbie Moore, Makenzie Beaudry and Kylie Dow, who contributed a goal to the victory.

“The sophomores have playoff experience and a full season of experience behind them, and they’ve been able to incorporate that into this season and step right into their roles,” said Smith.

A more motivational brand of experience is shared by the team’s seniors, who were freshmen when Foxcroft captured the third state championship in program history, the 2013 Class C crown.

“We saw the excitement those seniors felt after working so hard for it for four years,” said Anderson, “and we want to have that same feeling for all the effort we’ve put in over the last four years.”

Foxcroft’s path to a regional title must pass through the tradition-rich Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference — a league that has captured every Eastern/North Class B crown since 1996.

Should Foxcroft defeat Lawrence in its semifinal, the Ponies would play the survivor of a semifinal battle between KVAC powers Winslow and Belfast Wednesday for the Class B North title.

The two leagues don’t play games against each other during the regular season, leaving Foxcroft and the other three Class B schools in the PVC (Hermon, Old Town and John Bapst of Bangor) to play predominantly Class C schedules.

The Ponies played nine matches against Class C opponents this fall and just five against Class B programs — their two wins over Old Town were the only games Foxcroft has played to date against a Class B team with a winning record.

“I’d like to see that we’d cross leagues going forward,” Smith said. “There was talk two years ago, but then it fell through, and I haven’t heard anything about it since.”

Foxcroft’s determination to extend its current run transcends conference affiliation — for the Ponies, it’s now merely on to Lawrence.

“I’m very optimistic,” said Smith. “We’ve got the skill, and we’ve got the experience. I think we can do it.”