Mt. Ararat’s Phoebe Fitzpatrick, left, battles with Edward Little’s Meredith Delehanty during a Class A North field hockey game Tuesday night at Stadium Field in Topsham. Eric Maxim/The Times Record
TOPSHAM — The Edward Little field hockey team scored two first-half goals and then made them stand late to secure a tough 2-1 victory over Mt. Ararat in a Class A North game Tuesday night at Stadium Field.
Seniors Leah Thibodeau and Helena Moon scored for the Red Eddies (5-3).
Thibodeau got things going when she broke free on a breakaway and beat Mt. Ararat goalie Danika Siatris with 9:25 remaining in the first quarter.
The Eagles had a chance to pull even with just over a minute remaining in the frame, but Red Eddies goalie Kasey Smith made a tough save.
Mt. Ararat continued to apply pressure at the start of the second quarter, but the Red Eddies defense and Smith continued to shine.
Mt. Ararat forward Grace Keleher had a good opportunity from out front, firing multiple shots on Smith, who would turn them all away.
Mt. Ararat’s Lydia Hiltz, left, squares in front of Edward Little goalie Kasey Smith while Mt. Ararat’s Grace Keleher (3), Phoebe Fitzpatrick and Gabrielle Duplisses (5) close in on the play during a Class A North field hockey game Tuesday night at Stadium Field in Topsham. Eric Maxim/The Times Record
“It’s definitely stressful, especially when they get close, sometimes one-v-ones are really scary, but honestly I have my teammates to rely on so I know I am not in their alone,” said the senior goalie. “I know if I kick it out real far, my teammates will carry it out.”
With five and a half-minutes remaining in the first half, Moon hit the back of the cage to give EL a 2-0 lead.
For much of the second half, the teams battled at midfield and when the Eagles got control and drove into the circle, Smith and company were there to stop them.
“We have been working on getting in their way and making those critical passes and constantly jabbing at the ball,” said Edward Little coach Kim Joler. “She (Smith) works hard, defense works hard, and there is constant communication.”
Edward Little’s Leah Thibodeau collides with Mt. Ararat goalie Danika Siatris as she scores the game’s first goal during a Class A North field hockey game Tuesday night at Stadium Field in Topsham. Eric Maxim/The Times Record
Despite being outshot 16-4, the defense rose to the occasion once again, stopping the Eagles on back-to-back corner attempts. The Eagles failed to score on eight corners in the final quarter.
Late in the final quarter, following a Red Eddies shot that was cleared by Mt. Ararat’s Siatris, the ball made it through the middle of the field and with 2:38 remaining in the game, Phoebe Fitzpatrick beat Smith to cut the deficit in half.
“EL is a great team and not to take anything away from them, we just could not find our rhythm,” Mt. Ararat coach Krista Chase said. “We had some good individual play, we just didn’t collectively put it together like we have to. We had shots and their defense was good, but when you have 20 corners and can’t score, that’s a problem and I’ll own that as a coach. Our effort was good, our execution was not.”
Mt. Ararat travels to Mt. Blue (6-1) on Thursday.
“We are all in the middle of the pack, so it will be a battle in the second half of the season to see who can squeak into those upper spots,” said Chase.
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