HAMPDEN — Nickyia Lovely has been a big scorer for Gardiner field hockey for three years. Earlier this fall, the Tigers brought up her younger sister, freshman Hailee Lovely.
“It’s actually really good,” Nickyia said. “At first I was thinking, ‘Oh my God. My little sister’s going to be up and playing with me. Big brat. But she’s just a really good partner to me, and it’s awesome to have her around.”
If Hailee hadn’t won Nickyia over already, she definitely did on Thursday evening. They combined on Nickyia’s game-winning goal with 2 minutes, 22 seconds to go in the first overtime as Gardiner defeated Belfast, 1-0, in the Eastern B final at the Weatherbee Complex.
Gardiner advances to the Class B final against York. The game will be 1 p.m., Saturday at Thomas College in Waterville.
Gardiner (15-1-1) came in as the No. 1 seed and handled seventh-seeded Belfast, 3-0, three weeks earlier in the regular season. But this was a different Lions team.
“They’re such a playoff team anyway,” Gardiner coach Sharon Gallant said. “How many years has Belfast come in as a low seed and then knocked people off?”
Gardiner controlled the first half with a 6-0 edge in shots and a 6-2 advantage in corners. The Tigers put one in the cage midway through the half, but it was waved off for being a dangerous ball.
Belfast seized control in the second half. The Lions tilted the field, out-shooting Gardiner 6-0 and holding a 7-1 edge in corners in the second half.
“Their offense was really getting to us, and I was kind of down on myself,” Nickyia Lovely said.
In the 7-on-7 overtime, Gardiner got an opportunity when the ball bounced past a Belfast defender and into the circle. Hailee Lovely grabbed it, but her initial shot was blocked. Nickyia Lovely was there and sent the rebound home.
“My sister actually deflected it after she hit the ball,” Nickyia Lovely said. “It came out to me and I was like, ‘OK, I might as well just shoot it.’ It went in, and the adrenaline was so awesome.”
Gallant was feeling the adrenaline, too. When describing the winning play, she talked about a different sequence.
“I have to tell you, it was a little crazy at that point,” Gallant said.
It wasn’t just luck that Hailee Lovely, a freshman, was in the game in such a pressure situation after being on varsity for only a few weeks. You might say Gallant had a vision.
“She’s fast and she’s got good stickwork,” Gallant said. “And because her sister was out there, the two of them play very well together. They seem to know where each other are. That was it, trying to find a piece that work really well together.”
It certainly was a piece that worked really well — well enough to send the Tigers to the state championship.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
