South teams sweep state field hockey championships
By Larry Mahoney, Bangor Daily News Staff
LEWISTON – It was a southern Maine sweep in the State Field Hockey championship games in Lewiston on Saturday, Nov. 4 and two of the three games were decided in the final three minutes.
Lucy Johnson, the state’s all-time leading goal scorer, tallied her 40th goal of the season with 58 seconds left as Cheverus edged defending champ Skowhegan 2-1 in the A final.
It was the third straight year the two teams met in the final with Skowhegan winning 3-2 a year ago after Cheverus had triumphed 4-1 in 2021.
In the C title game, Madeline Wagner scored her second goal of the contest with 2:30 remaining to give Winthrop/Monmouth/Maranacook a 2-1 victory over Dexter/Central for its third straight title and fourth in six years.
Freeport won its first ever state title in the B game as it topped Cony High of Augusta 2-0. Freeport had lost to Lawrence of Fairfield 1-0 in last year’s championship game.
In the A final, Johnson sprinted down the left wing before breaking in alone on Skowhegan goalie Michela Provost and lifting the puck past her to decide it.
Johnson, who had three goals in the 5-0 win over Biddeford in the A South final, also assisted on Mikayla Talbot’s goal with 5:09 left in the first period.
Skowhegan tied it with five seconds left in the half off a penalty corner.
Miss Maine Field Hockey finalist Layla Conway scored her 25th of the year after swatting home a Sydalia Savage rebound. Conway had passed the ball to Laney LeBlanc, who slipped it over to Savage for the shot.
LeBlanc is also a Miss Maine Field Hockey finalist along with Cheverus’ Lily Johnson, Lucy’s sister.
Cheverus concluded an 18-0 campaign while Skowhegan, winner of 17 of the previous 21 state championship games, wound up 16-2.
In the B final, Emily Groves and Sophie Bradford scored first-half goals and the Falcons withstood 23 Cony penalty corners to earn their championship. Eighteen of those corners came in the second half as the desperate Rams swarmed the Freeport circle.
Cony had scored off three penalty corners in its 3-0 B North championship game win over Belfast.
Freeport capped a 14-3-1 season while Cony ended up 15-2-1 and was shut out for just the second time this season.
Groves and Bradford had scored in the 2-1 win over Yarmouth in the B South final. Bradford had the winner in the second overtime.
In the C title game, Wagner raced from her own end into the Dexter circle and fired the ball past Sunny Bache during a three-on-one to break the 1-1 tie.
It was Wagner’s third goal in two games as she had one in the 2-0 win over Spruce Mountain of Jay in the C South title game.
Wagner had opened the scoring in the first half before Lexi Vafiades tied it for Dexter/Central in the fourth quarter after working her way past a couple of Winthrop defenders.
Both teams wound up 15-3 on the season.
Dexter/Central was seeking its first state title since 2009.