Early goals propel Tigers to win vs. PCHS
No. 1 Dexter was set to play second seed MCI in C North championship Tuesday
By Stuart Hedstrom
Staff Writer
DEXTER — A goal just over two minutes in and another before seven minutes had elapsed helped top seed Dexter Regional High School defeat neighboring rival Piscatquis Community High School, 3-0, in a Class C North semifinal on Saturday. The victory advanced the Tigers (14-2) to the regional championship for the eighth time in nine years. The team was scheduled to face No. 2 Maine Central Institute of Pittsfield (12-4) Tuesday on the artificial turf at Thomas College in Waterville.
Observer photo/Stuart Hedstrom
SWEEPING THE GOAL — Looking to clear the ball safely away is senior Rylea Roberts of PCHS during the Class C North semifinal at Dexter on Oct. 24 between the fourth-seeded Pirates and No. 1 Tigers. Positioned behind Roberts by the official is Dexter junior Morgann Wyman and to the right is Dexter senior Kolby Kain, PCHS senior Alexa Merrill and on the turf is Pirate junior keeper Sydney Marden.Dexter won by a score of 3-0.
Early in the semifinal, Dexter senior Katie Batron had the ball near the stroke mark where she passed it to classmate Kolby Kain positioned by the PCHS goal. Kain received the pass and directed the ball in on the point-blank shot at the 27:54-mark.
The Tigers kept the pressure on the opposition early in terms of penalty corners and shots on goal; the team had an 11-0 corner advantage and 9-2 edge in shots over the first 30 minutes of play. On a corner from the right Kain put the ball in play and after several passes she fired off a shot at Pirate junior Sydney Marden.
Marden made the stop, she finished with a game-high 10 saves on 16 shots, but the ball rolled loose on the dirt in front of the goal. Batron was in the right spot at the right time to guide the ball in for the 2-0 advantage as she and Kain combined for a goal and assist on the two scoring plays of the opening half.
“It’s getting them to play in those big situations, that’s the key,” Dexter Head Coach Margaret Veazie said, saying her team worked on such plays in the practices leading up to game. “When they hustle and play like that they are going to win.”
The Tigers would score one more time late in the second half. Senior Emily Watson took the corner for Dexter, passing the ball in to junior Abby Webber whose shot toward the lower left of the Pirate goal found its mark to make the game 3-0 with 2:19 to play.
“The three of them when they work together, they’re beautiful,” Veazie said about the game’s trio of goal scorers.
The later two goals would end up as insurance with the Dexter defense posting its 12th shutout of the season, having yielded only seven goals in 16 games. Against PCHS Dexter senior keeper Kaitlyn Paquin, one of seven Tigers playing on their home field for the last time, made two saves and the team limited the opposing offense to four shots on goal. The team also had a penalty corner advantage of 20 to 3
Dexter and PCHS split their regular season meetings, with the Pirates earning a 3-1 win on the team’s home field on Oct. 12. The three goals were the most given up by the Tigers in 2015 and in six contests since, four in the regular season as well as the Class C North quarterfinal and semifinal, the team has kept the opposition’s side of the scoreboard at zero.
“That awoke a sleeping giant, kind of,” Veazie said. She explained she told her players that the last four games are the most important of the season. “You want them peaking at the end, I work really hard at that.”
Veazie said having her daughter Kristy (Veazie) Staples — a multiple state champion during her playing career at Dexter — on the coaching staff this season has been a huge addition, particularly with Staples’ work on the defensive game.
In 2014 the Tigers fell to Winslow High School in what was then the Eastern Maine final, 2-0. “This year they have worked harder and we’re in better shape,” Veazie said Dexter is seeking the program’s first regional title since 2009, when the Tigers won the Class C state championship. The 2009 state game was played on Oct. 31, which happens to be the scheduled date for this year’s state championship.
PCHS was playing in the postseason for the first time since 2012, and the berth in the regional semifinal round was the first for the program since 2006. The Pirates concluded with a record of 9-6-1. The team’s five seniors are Jordynne Littlefield, Alexa Merrill Alanna Page, Tiffany Porter and Rylea Roberts.
Observer photo/Stuart Hedstrom
ONE ON ONE — Tiger senior Kaitlyn Hall looks to dribble around senior Jordynne Littlefield of PCHS during the Class C North semifinal on Oct. 24 in Dexter. After splitting during the regular season, with each team winning on its home field, the Tigers won the third meeting of 2015.
Observer photo/Stuart Hedstrom
TWO SETS OF EYES ON THE BALL — Looking to get to a ball along the sideline is PCHS senior Tiffany Porter and Dexter junior Morgann Wyman.
Observer photo/Stuart Hedstrom
PROTECTING THE PIRATE GOAL — As Dexter senior Kolby Kain puts the ball in play on a penalty corner during the early minutes of Saturday’s semifinal, the Pirate defense gets ready. Around and in the PCHS goal is junior Jewel Lamb, senior Alanna Page, junior keeper Sydney Marden and seniors Alexa Merrill and Rylea Roberts.
FIELD HOCKEY
Class C North
semifinal
No. 1 Dexter 3,
No. 4 PCHS 0
PCHS 0 0 | 0
DEXT 2 1 | 3
First half: D — Kain (Batron);
D- Batron (Kain).
Second half: D– A. Webber
(Waston).
Saves: D — Paquin 2;
P — Marden 10.
Penalty corners: D — 20;
P — 3.
Records: D 14-2;
P 9-6-1.