Dexter win is end of era for Veazies Undefeated Tigers roll on; Raiders, Indians triumph

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GORHAM – Margaret Veazie tried, but couldn’t help crying. Not after she watched her team win 3-1 in a remarkable last-minute save, not after the awards ceremony at the high school field hockey Class C championships Saturday at Gorham High School.

It wasn’t because Veazie’s team earned its third state title in five years that the Dexter coach was more emotional than usual at the state game. It was because it was the last game daughter Kristy Veazie and the other seniors would play for her.

“I’ve coached them since the second grade,” Margaret Veazie said.

If there was any doubt the Class C coach was more caught up in the memories than the stunning farewell performances she had quietly watched, the evidence was in the glory that wasn’t achieved in her team’s game against Hall-Dale of Hallowell.

Dexter, which finished 18-0 and won 36 straight games in the past two years, was three goals shy of ending with an unprecedented 100-goal season. Margaret Veazie, who played for Dexter in high school, didn’t care, though she was surprised the Tigers failed to reach the benchmark.

“We can easily score six goals in a game. But this was more interesting,” Veazie said. “I like it better. There was more excitement, more adrenaline.”

The Class B state championship also was decided at the end, with Winslow’s Katie Souviney ending a game that went to two overtimes and three sets of penalty corners with a deflected shot to give the Black Raiders a 1-0 win over Greely of Cumberland Center.

The Class A state title game lacked all the suspense of the other two, with Skowhegan scoring three goals in the first period within a five-minute span to take the runaway win from Western Maine champion Sanford, which had won a state-record 50 straight games.

In the Class C game, Hall-Dale sent high-scoring Dexter into the second half in an unusual position, with a one-goal lead.

In the first, Kristy Veazie deflected in an Erika Haiko assist with 7 minutes, 53 seconds left in the half to give Dexter the early lead. But most of the game, the teams were evenly matched. Dexter outshot Hall-Dale just 11-9, even though it drew 15 penalty corners to Hall-Dale’s six.

When Hall-Dale’s Lindsay Choate deflected in a penalty corner shot at 13:13 in the second to tie it, the title was in question. When Hall-Dale drew a penalty corner with 4:56 left in the game, it even seemed to have the momentum.

It wasn’t until the final two minutes of the game,- just after Margaret Veazie called a timeout with 3:55 left -that Dexter showed how it has played all season.

With 1:44 left, Meagan Fogerty, newly assigned to Kristy Veazie’s position on the forward line at right inner, pushed in a scoring shot off a skirmish.

“I was at the right post. I didn’t think it would go in,” Fogerty said.

Then, with 35 seconds left, sophomore Brittany Veazie made it 3-1 from inside the circle.

“We knew our best chance was on corners,” Choate said. “But after [I scored] we let down. We didn’t have people back.”

Margaret Veazie said the reason for Dexter’s sudden offensive run at the end was more due to the adjustment that was made with Kristy Veazie moved from right inner to the left side on the front line and taking Fogerty, a freshman, off the bench and putting her into Veazie’s position.

“In the first half, we thought we were going to win,” Kristy Veazie said. “Then, in the second half, they shut us down. We were too nonchalant.”

Cindy Koscielny got the win for Dexter, stopping eight shots.

Christen Lachapelle stopped eight for 14-2-2 Hall-Dale.

At the conclusion of the Class B game, Winslow Athletic Director Sean Keenan was walking around proclaiming how the 100-plus fans “got their money’s worth.” But the game was scoreless and without drama until it was decided by the one goal scored by Souviney.

The defensive match wasn’t undecided until after two 30-minute periods, two 8-minute overtimes where teams played seven-on-seven, and three sets of penalty corners.

In regulation, each team has 11 players on the field, so overtime play forces players to hustle more.

While Greely dominated much of regulation, outshooting Winslow 11-6, the Black Raiders showed greater resolve on the corners.

Greely got off two good shots on its first two penalty corners, but on the third set of corners, Winslow’s Beth LaFountain got off a better shot and Souviney was positioned at the left post to deflect the ball past Greely senior goalie Katie Bell, who made eight saves.

“I passed it to Katie Flaherty and she back passed it to Beth. She was supposed to shoot it, but I was at the post,” Souviney said. “We haven’t been as successful on corners. We were struggling in the beginning of the season.”

The Black Raiders improved to 14-5 as sophomore Cierra Byrne earned the shutout win stopping 12 shots.

Greely fell to 11-4-3.

The Class A game opened with Amy McDaniel scoring at 16:58 in the first period. Her goal was followed nearly a minute later by a Ramie Merrill goal that came off a Robin Albert assist.

Merrill put Skowhegan out of reach scoring again at 12:25 in the half.

Senior goalie Meghan Gove stopped 16 shots to get the win for Skowhegan, now 16-2.

Junior Michelle Gauthier stopped six of nine shots for 16-1 Sanford.