5 North field hockey teams to watch this season
By Larry Mahoney, Bangor Daily News Staff
Field hockey season is in full swing and some well-established programs are off to a fast start.
Here are five teams from the North to keep an eye on this season. They are listed alphabetically with last year’s overall record and playoff outcome.
Belfast (14-2-1, lost to eventual state champ Lawrence 4-3 in B North final)
Jan (Holmes) Jackson’s Lions are off to a 7-0 start and they have outscored their opponents 60-1.
“This is one of the best teams I’ve ever coached,” said Jackson, who has been at Belfast since 2013 after beginning her career at Camden Hills in 1996.
The Lions have been led by prolific scorer Breanna Shorey, a junior who scored more than 20 goals a year ago en route to All-KVAC North accolades.
Speedy junior Ava Markham and sophomore Payton Wadsworth join Shorey up front and can also put the ball in the cage with proficiency. Jackson has also received offensive production from sophomore midfielders Halle Tarbox, Jocelyn Valleau and Allison Friel.
The Lions have been solid in the back with Emily Friel, sophomore Laura Carpenter and junior Kali Knight patrolling the Point Lookout artificial turf in front of sophomore goalkeeper Nikki Shorey.
Point Lookout is in nearby Northport and Jackson said they are hoping to raise money to have a multi-sport artificial turf surface in Belfast.
Jackson noted that she also had some quality depth including the likes of swift-footed sophomore left wing Lawless Desrochers, junior midfielder Kayla Wight and sophomore back Oralee Woodbury.
Belfast won four B state titles between 2004 and 2011 and was the state runner up in 2012 and ’16.
Dexter-Central (12-4, lost to Maine Central Institute 1-0 in C North semifinals)
Coach Brittany McAllister returned 10 starters off last year’s C North semifinalist team and all have experience at the varsity level.
Dexter won its first five games before losing to arch-rival Foxcroft Academy 2-1 on Tuesday. Dexter has scored only 10 goals but has allowed just five.
“We have dominated our games, getting 15 to 20 penalty corners a game. But we’re still working on putting the ball in the goal. We’re getting a lot of opportunities. We’ve faced some strong goaltenders,” McAllister said.
Two of her catalysts have been twins Brianna and Lexi Vafiades. Brianna Vafiades is a center midfielder and Lexi is the right wing.
“Brianna has really stepped up and can play all over the field. She is really doing a nice job,” McAllister said. “Lexi does a phenomenal job carrying the ball and getting it down into the offense end.”
Two seniors, left back Lily Brown and sweeper Acadia Markham, have anchored the defense and are top-notch one-on-one defenders, according to McAllister.
Junior Sunny Bache is the full-time goalkeeper after sharing the duties a year ago.
Junior Brooklyn Dow and sophomore Kallie Stone join Brown and Markham in the back, and accompanying Brianna Vafiades in the midfield are junior McKenzie Clay and Keira Bennett. Alex Vafiades has sophomore Abby Trafton and junior Preslee Dow with her up on the front line.
McAllister said she is looking for her team to continue having the lion’s share of possession and is hoping that dominance will turn into more goals.
Dexter won four C state titles in a row from 2000 to ’03 but hasn’t appeared in a state game since it beat North Yarmouth Academy 1-0 in the 2009 final.
Foxcroft Academy (8-8, lost to Dirigo 5-0 in the semifinals)
The Ponies have returned to form after an uncharacteristic .500 season a year ago. Foxcroft Academy had posted a 61-9 regular season record in the previous five campaigns.
Foxcroft Academy of Dover-Foxcroft won its first six games.
“The thing I love about this year is we don’t have one standout player. They all have to work together and they have. The passing has been on, our attack on goal has been strong, and we have Emma Bither in goal and she has four shutouts and has allowed only two goals,” said second-year head coach Davan Walker, whose team has scored 18 goals in its six games.
Bither had been a midfielder but was willing to give goalkeeper a try when they needed one midway through last season. Walker feels she has potential to play the position in college.
Bither is one of six returning starters along with senior forward and leading scorer Hilary Howard, junior center back Emily Greenlaw, sophomore left back Emma McGary, sophomore midfielder Jaiyde True and senior sweeper Laney McGary.
True, a back last season, is accompanied in the midfield by freshman Jadenne Frigon and senior Elina White, who transferred from Stearns of Millinocket.
Spanish boarding student Marie Galera, a junior, joins Howard up front along with freshman Jenna Hartford.
The Ponies are playing their home games on the artificial turf in the Jim Robinson Field House and it has made “such a difference,” according to Walker.
Foxcroft Academy won its last C state crown in 2019, six years after its previous title.
Nokomis (10-5-1, lost to Belfast 3-1 in B North semis)
Head coach Shaunessy Saucier said this is the best of her three Nokomis teams and it has shown with the Newport-based Warriors’ 5-0 start in which they have outscored their opponents 36-1.
“These players are super committed. They play all summer together in a couple of different leagues,” Saucier said.
Saucier returns six starters off last year’s team. Junior Eliya Drummond returns in goal, senior Madeleine Roundy and sophomore Addison Hawthorne are influential midfielders, tenacious senior Ava Lovley and junior Myia SeeHusen are two of the primary point-producers up front, and junior Alaina Donahue is considered an “excellent tackler” by Saucier.
Three freshmen have cracked the starting lineup. Delanie Randlett and Annie Nyce start in the midfield and Mackenzie Watson starts in the back.
Junior Aryanna Turner is a versatile player who can play a number of different positions and is playing up front right now. Abbie Reynolds is a senior back and junior Madelynn Wyman and sophomore Destiny Desjardins provide solid depth.
Sophomore forward Raegan King has been lost for the season due to injury.
“We need to continue to develop our passing game,” Saucier said. “It’s hard to defend a good passing team.”
Nokomis won its last B state title in 2013, three years after its previous one.
Skowhegan (18-0, beat Cheverus 3-2 in state A final)
Despite losing its first regular season game since Sept. 7, 2017, on Monday night, 2-1 to Messalonskee High in Oakland, the River Hawks are still the team to beat in A North since they have won the last 21 regional titles and 17 state championships during that span.
“Messalonskee is an awesome team. It is really evident they are used to playing on [artificial] turf and we struggle on it,” said Skowhegan coach Paula Doughty, who will be inducted into her fourth Hall of Fame in January when she goes into the National Field Hockey Coaches Association’s Hall of Fame.
Skowhegan, which is now 4-1, plays on natural grass and Doughty said that due to the volume of rain this season, their field has been playing slower than normal so it requires a bigger adjustment when they play on artificial turf.
“I’m happy with the team,” Doughty said. “We have some inexperience but they will get more experience every day and I can see us doing well this season.”
While Doughty admitted that Class A North is competitive this year, the River Hawks have three returning All-KVAC Class A North players in senior midfielder Laney LeBlanc, senior forward Layla Conway and junior back Sydalia Savage.
LeBlanc was chosen the Player of the Year.
Michela Provost, a junior, is in her first season as a goalie and has played well, according to Doughty.
Savage headlines the fullback corps and she is joined in the back by junior Lucia Siren, senior Jayla Gentry and vastly improved senior Gemma Kennedy.
LeBlanc and senior Masyn Atwood are difference-makers in the midfield and they are joined by senior Kaylee Bruce and freshmen Charlotte Haynie and Jaiden Dodge.
Conway is the catalyst up front and she will be complemented by sophomores Grace Mayo and Dasia Alberico, juniors Ellie Quinn and Sophie Noyes and freshman Faith Pease.