Lady Eagles’ field hockey teams grab big wins over Marshwood

Windham senior Ellie Miller charges toward the net before
scoring the winning goal in overtime and breaking a 2-2 tie
against Marshwood on Tuesday, Sept. 14 at Windham.
PHOTO BY MATT PASCARELLA 

By Matt Pascarella

After forging a tie with time running out in regulation play against Marshwood, Windham’s varsity field hockey forced overtime before senior Ellie Miller scored a late goal to secure a 3-2 come-from-behind win for the Lady Eagles.

During the JV game, Windham scored early and kept the goals coming one after another after another. At the final buzzer, they walked off the field with a 10-0 win over the Hawks.

When all was said and done, Windham’s junior varsity and varsity field hockey teams played two very impressive games at home against Marshwood on Tuesday, Sept. 14.

Varsity

“We kind of had a shaky start [to the game] in terms of cohesively being together as a team,” said Windham varsity coach Cory DiDonato. “So, what the girls were able to do was to figure out the kinks on their own ... we just came off two losses and I think they were really hungry to turn it around.”

DiDonato added a player like Miller who is so hungry for a win and that hunger bleeds into the rest of the team and they all feel it. DiDonato was really excited and proud of the way Windham picked it up and played until the end.

Windham pressured early on. The Lady Eagles were passing nicely and had strong hits that moved the ball well. However, Windham wasn’t able to score until the end of the first half when freshman Zoe Dries put the ball between the posts. Marshwood led 2-1 at the half.

In the second half, Windham’s defense stopped Marshwood from scoring more goals. With 3:42 left in the game, Windham sophomore Emma Morrison tied the game at two. This sent the game into overtime.

There was less than 18 seconds left in overtime when Miller shot the ball from the corner of the field, and it had just enough space to roll into the net.

“I didn’t think it was going in, but it just squeezed in between the goalie and the side of the cage,” said Miller. “We all worked really well together in overtime and gave it our everything.”

Junior Varsity

Once Dries scored for Windham early on, their aggressiveness did not stop. Windham had excellent passing with strong defense.

Windham freshman Piper Chicoine scored next followed by Dries again. Windham led 3-0 at the half.

At the start of the second half, Chicoine scored twice. Windham’s aggressiveness increased as they headed toward the final buzzer. They went after and stayed with the ball, as they took shot after shot after shot on goal. Sophomore Elizabeth Gurney scored back-to-back goals, then again before the end of the game. Dries scored once more. Windham freshman Zocia LaWind pushed Windham’s score into double digits.

Gurney said Windham had good passes and communication. She added it felt good to score as much as she did but thought overall it was a good team effort.

“The team really had a chance to work on our offense,” said Windham JV coach Lyndsay Stretch. “The forwards did really well with using their eliminations to get past the Marshwood defense. We were able to use strong passes successfully and keep the intensity and focus strong.” 

Stretch added the forward line stayed strong in the circle with many shots on goal and was able to be there for the rebound shot. Defensively they were able to hold back Marshwood and keep the pressure on with great teamwork.<