WINSLOW — The rainout Tuesday was a disappointing one for the Winslow field hockey team. The Black Raiders really wanted another crack at Gardiner.
“When we had to cancel (Tuesday), they were upset,” coach Mary Beth Bourgoin said. “They were definitely ready for it.”
Even with a 24-hour wait, it turned out that nothing had changed. Silver Clukey scored three goals, Taylor Rodriguez added another and Winslow stayed undefeated with a 4-0 win over Gardiner in a Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class B matchup.
Winslow junior Bodhi Littlefield, left, battles Gardiner’s Lani Porter for possession during a Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class B game Wednesday afternoon in Winslow. Morning Sentinel photo by Rich Abrahamson
“It’s always a great contest between us,” said Bourgoin, whose team improved to 8-0. “They’re always super tough, and it doesn’t matter what the final score is. It’s always a battle.”
And it was a battle the last time these teams met, which came in last year’s B North final, which Gardiner (5-2) won 3-2 en route to the Class B championship. Even after seven wins to start the season, a chance for a little bit of payback was on the minds of the Winslow players as they approached first Tuesday, then Wednesday afternoon.
“I think definitely, coming into this game, we really had our mind focused,” Clukey said. “We remembered that game from last year, and that was a tough loss, so we really wanted to come out here and prove ourselves.”
Clukey got the first goal on the board, and she didn’t wait long to do it. The Black Raiders got the ball toward the cage, and Gardiner goalie Kassidy Collins (18 saves) went out to try to kick the ball away from trouble. Clukey beat her to it, however, and knocked a shot home for a 1-0 lead just 3:27 into the game.
“That goal really set the tone for our game,” Clukey said. “That was the starting point of where we had to get our energy from.”
Winslow went ahead 2-0 on a pretty goal nearly 20 minutes later. Bodhi Littlefield took the ball near the back of the circle and dropped a perfect lob over the Gardiner defense and down to the left doorstep of the goal. Rodriguez was waiting for it, and knocked home the scoring chance with 7:56 to go in the half.
“We practice it a lot, and coach looked at me before and she said ‘Look where the defender is,’ ” Littlefield said. “I saw that she was not coming out super fast, I saw the lift and Taylor, great positioning, tipped it in.”
Gardiner coach Sharon Gallant recognized it right away.
“The corner aerial, that’s my play,” she said, laughing. “I beat her at Thomas a few years ago, a 1-0 game, on that play, and she’s used it against me since then.”
Winslow’s clever stickwork paid off again late in the second half. Collins dove to make a save, and the rebound rolled directly to Clukey. Knowing a quick shot would likely be stopped by the Tiger goalie, Clukey instead flicked a shot over her and just under the top of the cage for a 3-0 lead with 10:38 remaining.
“Abby Wright had a beautiful cut coming right from her side, and (Collins) was on the ground,” said Clukey, who finished the hat trick with 16 seconds left. “I had to pause for a moment and really think about where I should place the ball, and that was up in the air.”
Bourgoin, whose team got nine saves from Leah Pelotte, said the team’s patience paid off.
“We’ve worked a lot on reading defenses, what is the goalie doing, what options do you have?” she said. “The aerials, and then we’ve worked a lot on throws. Abby Washburn has a gorgeous throw up the field. We’ve been using that a lot to our advantage, and then it’s kind of trickled down with all the other girls.”
Gardiner had chances to trim the deficit, and had an apparent goal called off when the official said the shot came from outside the circle, but Gallant said the Tigers were often trying in vain to keep up with the Black Raiders’ speed.
“These are the kinds of games that we like. This was by far the fastest game that we’ve played all season,” she said. “They’re very quick, very speedy, the stick work was really good. Skill-set wise, (this) was definitely the best that we’ve seen all season, so that was good for us.”
Collins was great in goal for the Tigers, who have a defense made up entirely of new starters.
“They’re all brand-new. They’re all sophomores, they’re all babies,” Gallant said. “And they did some really good things today. I have to be pleased with how they’re progressing, I just also need to be patient and let them progress at the appropriate speed.”
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