Winslow field hockey coach Mary Beth Bourgoin isn’t too worried about her veterans getting overconfident as they head into the Class B North tournament this week.
Two years ago, several of her juniors and seniors were on hand as Winslow upset top-seeded Gardiner. Last year, Winslow entered the playoffs unbeaten as the top seed and were upset by No. 8 Nokomis.
“They’ve been at the high of the high and the low of the low,” Bourgoin said. “It’s fun to play in (the tournament) because you don’t know what’s going to happen.”
That’s especially true in Class B North, where all games are rematches of regular meetings, and all were won by the higher seed. There are no guarantees the second time around, which every coach is well aware. Class B North may be the most competitive division in the state with teams trading wins and losses with one another throughout the season.
Third-seeded Winslow (12-2) hosts No. 6 Lawrence, a team the Raiders beat twice this season, on Tuesday afternoon. But Lawrence has a win over Belfast, a team that beat Winslow this year.
On it goes with defending Class B state champion Maine Central Institute handing top-seeded Gardiner its only loss this season. However, MCI finished as the fifth seeded and will have its hands full when it travels to No. 4 Belfast.
Nokomis needed a play-in game for the right to play Gardiner, a team the Tigers beat 5-2 in the regular season. But the Warriors embrace their underdog role much as they did a year ago when they upset Winslow. Second-seeded Foxcroft Academy isn’t in the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference but did play a couple of KVAC teams, beating MCI and Lawrence.
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Skowhegan is a heavy favorite to win regional and state championships again this year for good reason.
“I definitely think so when you look at their record,” Cony coach Holly Daigle said. “Everybody knows what a hard-working, skilled and well-coached team they are.”
Skowhegan’s record speaks for itself. The Indians are 14-0 and have won the Class A state title 15 of the last 17 seasons, including three straight. They haven’t lost in a regional final since 2000.
“I would love to see them again,” said Daigle, whose Rams finished third in Class A North at 10-3-1 and host No. 6 Oxford Hills on Tuesday.
Cony won the regular season match against Oxford Hills, 2-1, in South Paris early in the season.
“It was a fast-paced physical game,” Daigle said. “We know we’re in for a tough game when we play Oxford hills.”
The Rams played three strong teams to end the season, beating Messalonskee, losing 1-0 to Gardiner and tying Mt. Blue.
That tie enabled Mt. Blue to take over the No. 2 seed from Cony and the Cougars will face No. 7 Bangor, a team they recently defeated 7-1.
Skowhegan meets No. 8 Edward Little, but the toughest matchup of the day will likely be the one between No. Mt. Ararat and No. 5 Messalonskee in Topsham. Messalonskee won 3-1 in Oakland when the teams met a month ago but the Eagles have struggled down the stretch, albeit against tough opponents, losing four of their last six games.
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Top-seeded Winthrop is the favorite in Class C North playoffs, which get under way Tuesday with quarterfinal round games. The Ramblers returned nearly everyone from last year’s regional championship team and are looking to take the next step. Winthrop (13-1) lost it final game of the season, 3-2 to Class C South top seed Mountain Valley (11-3).
Winthrop will host No. 8 Boothbay Wednesday night in a regional quarterfinal game.
Ramblers coach Jess Merrill saw some positives in the setback.
“It was a good reality check,’ she said. “We haven’t had many close games.”
Winthrop hasn’t played many of the teams in the Class C North tournament but Merrill has scouted them all. One of those is No. 3 Mount View (9-5), which as a member of the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference plays primarily a Class B schedule.
“We had such a hard start to the season,” said Mount View coach Gloria Hewitt, whose Mustangs faced Winslow, Lawrence, Belfast and Maine Central Institute in four of the first five games, losing them all. “It’s hard on the kids, it’s hard on me. We got progressively better.”
The Mustangs host No. 6 Maranacook, a team it beat 3-0 in the regular season, Tuesday in Thorndike. The rest of the C North quarterfinal matchups include: No. 2 Dexter hosts Stearns/ Schenck while No. 4 Piscataquis hosts No, 5 Orono.
Winthrop, which has outscored opponents 69-7, has 10 players who have scored at least two goals, led by freshman Maddie Perkins with 22.
“They’re always well-coached,” Hewitt said. “We’d like to get as far as playing them in the finals.”
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