Lawrence’s Macie Larouche blocks a shot by Brewer during game on Monday in Fairfield.
Winslow field hockey coach Mary Beth Bourgoin has coached for or against dozens of players who have gone to collegiate success, so she’s pretty sure how senior Weslee Littlefield will perform next fall at Ohio University.
“I think the coaches are really going to love the kind of player she is,” Bourgoin said. “She will know her role, she’ll work to get that time she definitely deserves and she will be that true team collegiate player.”
Littlefield has already practiced with some of the Ohio University team.
“I just actually got back from Ohio,” Littlefield said. “I was with them, I was playing with them, I was at camp. I love the girls, love the team.”
Littlefield plays basketball and runs track at Winslow as well.
Lawrence’s Macie Larouche pressures Brewer’s Brooklyn Fick during game on Monday in Fairfield.
She leaned more toward basketball when she arrived at Winslow and has played a key role for the Black Raiders on the court. But she quickly became enamored with field hockey and has worked to improve her game since. What Bourgoin saw first and foremost was Littlefield the athlete.
“She came in with a competitiveness I don’t think I’ve seen before,” she said. “It’s about winning, it’s about team and that’s just gotten stronger.”
Bourgoin has used Littlefield in a variety of positions, beginning with the front line where she took advantage of her hard shot, to center midfield the past couple of seasons to center back this year. Much as she does from her point guard position on the basketball court, she directs the action and often dictates the pace for the field hockey team.
Littlefield takes nearly all the team’s hard hits and does it with a purpose. The same goes for her aerial passes which most always find a teammate.
“She’s like the quarterback of the team,” Bourgoin said. “I rely on her to call corners and she’ll be able to read the defense really well so she’s a pretty important player.
Just as important to the Raiders success are Littlefield’s leadership qualities.
“She rallies the girls on the field,” Bourgoin said. “She picks them up when they’re down. She takes care of everybody.”
Littlefield has worked hard on her game, playing in Futures tournaments as well as for the Maine Majestix during the off-season. She will receive an 80 percent scholarship beginning next fall and hopes to study athletic training.
“I loved it,” she said of the school. “It was perfect for me. It felt like home.”
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Gardiner has coasted through its first six games, outscoring opponents 29-0. Not only have the Tigers not allowed a goal, but so far they’ve only allowed a total of six shots on goal.
This has Coach Sharon Gallant concerned. Say what?
“It’s a big concern,” Gallant said. “we have to figure out where we’re at. We haven’t seen the strength of the conference yet.
The Tigers expect a test Thursday when they host 5-1 Lawrence and certainly at the end of the season when they finish with Maine Central Institute, Cony, Winslow and Belfast.
“I have no idea where we’re going to end up,” Gallant said. “It will be interesting, that’s for sure.”
For now, several players are getting a chance to score, led by junior Maggie Bell.
“She’s playing great,” Gallant said. “When she’s not putting it in she’s assisting.”
Lawrence’s Victoria Richards shoots during game against Brewer on Monday in Fairfield.
Sarah Faust, Piper Lavoie, Haley Brann and Maddy Farnham have also got into the scoring act, while Gallant said senior center midfielder Aimee Adams “is just rocking the ball.”Gallant even moved Jillian Bisson up from her defensive position a couple of time so she could get into the action.
“A lot of the teams we’ve been playing haven’t been getting the ball over midfield,” she said.
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First-year Maranacook coach Ashley Work received a rude welcome in her first varisty game when she faced Gardiner, a team she played for during high school. The Black Bears were overmatched and lost 9-0.
“I was blown away,” Work said. “I had forgotten how good Gardiner really was.”
Things have settled down since then and the Black Bears (2-4) are riding a two-game win streak. They currently stand in sixth place in the Class C North standings, good enough today to reach the postseason.
“Our defense and our offense have drastically improved,” Work said. “The forwards and midfielders have communicated a lot more.”
Senior Grace Bachelder has helped stabilize the team from her center mid position and scored the winning goal in a 1-0 win over Oceanside last week. Sophomore Alyssa Pratt has improved in goal and so have the defenders around her, including Carolina Bachelder, Haylee Weeks, Amanda Goucher, Elizabeth Potter and Brooke Stratton..
The Black Bears have a bye until Thursday’s game against Waterville.
“They need a break,” said Work, who added “we could not be more excited.”
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