Belfast prevails in battle of unbeatens

BELFAST – Here we go again, Belfast’s Morgan Crandall thought as she stepped into the circle to take a penalty stroke – her second in the Lion field hockey team’s Class B regional crossover semifinal against Old Town Wednesday.

Earlier in the game Crandall had taken a penalty stroke that was saved by Old Town goalie Emelie Richard. This time, Crandall knew she had to change her strategy.

“[Richard] set up the exact same way she did before and so I figured if I could shoot it far to the left it would probably go in,” Crandall said. “I was really nervous. I didn’t know if I was going to make it.”

This time indeed, Crandall hit it to Richards’ left – so far left that the ball actually rolled up the left side of the cage.

The goal, with 19:16 left in the game, was redemption for Crandall – who admitted to being “bummed” after she missed the first shot. It also provided Belfast with the game-winning score in a 3-1 victory over the Indians in the matchup of two undefeated squads.

The Lions, now 17-0, will host defending Class B state champion and four-time defending regional champ Winslow in the Eastern Maine final at 1 p.m. Saturday.

Old Town wraps its season with a 16-1 record.

As it turns out, Crandall practiced penalty strokes for about 20 minutes in Tuesday’s practice.

“It can happen at any given day, at any point in the game,” she said.

The Indians got far this season on a lot of skill, speed and big hitters like Liz Saucier and Sarah Metivier. Old Town coach Dodi Saucier said Belfast proved to be a different kind of opponent than the teams the Indians faced in the regular season.

“I think we just ran out of gas but it’s also that it’s a different style that we face in the tournament,” she said. “It’s a hard adjustment to make. It’s much more aggressive coming to the ball, and today they beat us coming to the ball.”

The Lions did a good job of marking Old Town during penalty corners, which have provided the Indians with a lot of scoring chances this year.

The Indians tallied seven penalty corners to 12 for Belfast.

“We couldn’t let anything happen in the circle and we couldn’t make any mistakes,” said Lion left mid Kate Gale.

Old Town kept up with Belfast in the first half thanks to some sustained offensive runs and good chances in the penalty area. The Indians were down 1-0 when Saucier tied it up on a hard shot from the right side of the area with 5:30 left in the first half.

Jen Jackson provided an insurance goal for the Lions in the second half. Ann Berry, who scored Belfast’s first goal of the game when she knocked in the rebound of a Crandall shot three minutes into the game, assisted on Jackson’s goal.

“We like to get out to the wing. We have a lot of speed all over,” Berry said. “We try to work it up the sides a lot and when we’re in the middle of the field get it out then back into the circle.”

Richard finished with 22 saves on 25 shots, while Belfast goalie Tash Scott had seven saves on 10 shots.