Dexter, Foxcroft meet again, this time in ‘C’ field hockey title game
Foxcroft Academy beat Dexter twice during the regular season. The Tigers hope to end that trend on Wednesday.
The undefeated and top-seeded Ponies (16-0) and the No. 2 Tigers (13-3) square off in the 7 p.m. Class C North field hockey championship game at Hampden Academy.
“We have nothing to lose. All the pressure is on them,” Dexter coach Brittany (Veazie) McAllister said.
Foxcroft Academy, which has allowed just two goals all season, won the regular-season meetings 4-0 and 3-1.
The other two North finals in Hampden pit top seed Winslow (14-2) against No. 2 Belfast (13-3) at 3 p.m. in Class B and No. 1 Skowhegan (16-0) against No. 2 Mt. Blue of Farmington (13-3) in the 5 p.m. Class A final.
“They play harder than any team around. They’re always really intense and they hustle. They’ll beat you to any ball,” McAllister said of FA. “We can’t let them get an early goal. If they don’t score [for an extended period], they’ll get frustrated and you take them out of their game. We have to contain them.”
The Ponies have scored 65 goals with Cassidy Marsh, Ava Rayfield and Maranda Poulin doing most of the damage.
Dexter has surrendered only eight goals.
“There is a lot of focus on Cassidy Marsh but Ava Rayfield has scored multiple goals every time we’ve played them,” said McAllister, who is counting on center back Tina Lawson, sweeper Regan McNally and goalkeeper Shawnee McNally, Regan’s twin, to key the defensive effort.
Foxcroft, a semifinalist in Class B last season, is looking for its first regional title since 2013 while Dexter’s last championship was 2009.
Bohdi Littlefield, Silver Clukey and goalie Leah Pelotte have been key contributors for coach Mary Beth Bourgoin’s Winslow team. Coach Jan Jackson’s Belfast squad features senior goalie Brooke Richards along with Grace Hall, Kayci Faulkingham and Mallory Tibbetts.
The Skowhegan-Mt. Blue game pits two of the three finalists for the Miss Maine Field Hockey award given to the state’s best seniors.
UMaine-bound Skowhegan back Bhreagh Kennedy has produced 13 goals and 14 assists and Mt. Blue midfielder Molly Harmon has 7 & 10. Paula Doughty’s Indians have won 18 consecutive Class A North titles and 15 state championships in that span.
Mt. Blue, coached by Jody Harmon, hasn’t won a regional title since 1978.