WINSLOW — Dinah Bilodeau did everything but stand on her head to keep the Mount View field hockey team in its Eastern Class C semifinal game Tuesday against Winslow.
But a shot by Jessica Greeley that slipped by the Mustangs goalie was the difference, as the Black Raiders reached their second consecutive regional final with a 2-1 overtime victory.
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Winslow (15-0-1), the No. 1 seed, will play either Dexter or Foxcroft in the regional final Thursday at Hampden Academy.
“It’s going to be another tough game, but we’re excited,” Greeley said.
Bilodeau, a senior, made 17 saves — including one on a penalty stroke — but the constant pressure of the Black Raiders’ offense was too much to overcome.
Greeley’s goal came early into overtime, as she had an open shot and was able to flip the ball past Bilodeau for the goal. The Winslow sideline immediately rushed the field for a midfield celebration.
“It looked open and (Mount View) played great,” Greeley said. “It was a great game, equally matched. It was just an open opportunity.”
The No. 4 Mustangs (9-5-2) jumped out to a 1-0 lead 10 minutes into the first half. Liz Nadeau received a pass on a penalty corner, wound up and fired a shot past Winslow goalie Delaney Wood for the 1-0 lead.
“I expected (Winslow) to play strong on their right side and they did,” Mount View coach Gloria Hewett said. “I expect them to cross the ball hard and they did. I saw exactly what I expected and I knew if we played well, we could play with them.”
Winslow kept the pressure on after Mount View’s goal. It fired off eight shots, but Bilodeau stopped them all. The Black Raiders also had a 5-2 penalty corner advantage, but the Mustangs were able to keep the ball away to hold onto the lead heading into halftime.
“We knew up the middle (Mount View) was going to be incredibly difficult,” Winslow coach Mary Beth Bourgoin said. “Between Lyndsey Morong and Kersey Boulay, we knew that we have to neutralize that as best we can and to keep it out of there. And to keep it away from the wing with Reanna Bouley, we knew they moved the ball well.”
Winslow had an early scoring chance in the second half with a penalty stroke opportunity. Brook Haskell flipped a shot in the air at Bilodeau, who promptly blocked it with her right hand protector to keep the lead.
“(Bilodeau) played a fantastic game,” Hewitt said. “She got scored on the last time we played in overtime on a (penalty) stroke and today she stopped the stroke, so that was pretty nice for her to do that, too.”
Four minutes later, the Black Raiders got on the board when Natalie Greene hit a rebound shot — amid heavy traffic in front of Bilodeau — into the goal for the 1-1 tie.
Bourgoin said Winslow’s previous experience in overtime during the season aided with the win.
“We’ve been (in overtime) three times this year,” Bourgoin said. “They’ve come out of it three times great, they know how to do it. It’s a battle and it’s gut-check time.”
Play stayed relatively even for the rest of the half, as Winslow had a 7-5 shot advantage. Mount View had a late scoring opportunity when Nadeau had an open shot on goal, but Wood made the save, keeping the score 1-1 at the end of regulation.
Now the Black Raiders move on to the regional final and some unfinished business.
“They never forgot about how they finished last year in the regional final, it was a big disappointment,” Bourgoin said. “That has kind of been feeding them all year long. I have girls who have played together since they were 5-, 6-years-old and they have something that they want to do together. So that’s been the driving force.”
Dave Dyer — 621-5639
ddyer@centralmaine.com
Twitter: @Dave_Dyer
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