Eighth-placed Windham varsity field hockey played ninth-placed South Portland/Westbrook in a preliminary playoff game at Windham on Friday, Oct. 24. Windham scored in the second half, but South Portland/Westbrook scored in each quarter except the second quarter and won, 3-1.
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| Windham sophomore Peyton Archibald moves the ball quickly toward the goal during a prep field hockey playoff game against South Portland/Westbrook at Windham High on Friday, Oct. 24. PHOTO BY MATT PASCARELLA |
Smyth said in the beginning of the season, with new coach, Maddy Perfetti, the team wasn’t sure what to expect, but the season went better than expected. Each game, they played hard and did the best they could. Smyth said their fast breaks went well during this playoff game. Junior Morgan McLain got the ball down the field quickly; Smyth thought passes were connecting well between the forwards.
Windham began the game with intensity and passed the ball well. Each team had strong defense, and scoring was restricted for most of the first quarter. Windham sophomore Peyton Archibald had a solid shot at goal, but it was blocked.
Minutes before the end of the first quarter, South Portland/Westbrook scored.
During the second quarter, Windham worked hard to be first to the ball but wasn’t able to score. South Portland/Westbrook led 1-0 at halftime.
About 90 seconds into the second half, Smyth scored and tied the game 1-1. Windham had cranked up the intensity and hustle in the third quarter. Their defense kept their opponent away until late in the third quarter when South Portland/Westbrook took a 2-1 lead.
South Portland/Westbrook would score a final time early in the fourth quarter.
Windham stuck with it until the very end.
“I think when they got their first goal (things started to unravel),” said McLain. “We’re not as strong at finishing the ball as most teams and I think ... when South Portland/Westbrook got the first goal our mindsets changed. We had more of a negative attitude; at halftime, we weren’t saying positive things to one another, I think that had its biggest impact.”
According to McLain and Smyth, senior goalie Olivia McPherson was amazing minding the net, she’s been doing amazing work all season. McPherson had six saves during this game.
“South Portland did better than us, said Perfetti. “They beat us to the ball, they were hungry, they really wanted it, and it looked like that. They were all over the ball. We haven’t had many games where we’ve come back from losing. I think that comes down to experience and age; a lot of them haven’t played or started for varsity – dealing with emotions, how you talk to your teammates and how you give feedback, how you keep a positive attitude. I think they really did improve their tactical play in a lot of games, they’ve played some really good field hockey against some good teams, so I’m proud of them for that – they’ve learned the game in a way that I wasn’t necessarily expecting from high school kids. As a first season ... it’s building, we’re going to be patient, we’ll be back next year, and we’ll be ready to assess and see what we need to do better.” <
Minutes before the end of the first quarter, South Portland/Westbrook scored.
During the second quarter, Windham worked hard to be first to the ball but wasn’t able to score. South Portland/Westbrook led 1-0 at halftime.
About 90 seconds into the second half, Smyth scored and tied the game 1-1. Windham had cranked up the intensity and hustle in the third quarter. Their defense kept their opponent away until late in the third quarter when South Portland/Westbrook took a 2-1 lead.
South Portland/Westbrook would score a final time early in the fourth quarter.
Windham stuck with it until the very end.
“I think when they got their first goal (things started to unravel),” said McLain. “We’re not as strong at finishing the ball as most teams and I think ... when South Portland/Westbrook got the first goal our mindsets changed. We had more of a negative attitude; at halftime, we weren’t saying positive things to one another, I think that had its biggest impact.”
According to McLain and Smyth, senior goalie Olivia McPherson was amazing minding the net, she’s been doing amazing work all season. McPherson had six saves during this game.
“South Portland did better than us, said Perfetti. “They beat us to the ball, they were hungry, they really wanted it, and it looked like that. They were all over the ball. We haven’t had many games where we’ve come back from losing. I think that comes down to experience and age; a lot of them haven’t played or started for varsity – dealing with emotions, how you talk to your teammates and how you give feedback, how you keep a positive attitude. I think they really did improve their tactical play in a lot of games, they’ve played some really good field hockey against some good teams, so I’m proud of them for that – they’ve learned the game in a way that I wasn’t necessarily expecting from high school kids. As a first season ... it’s building, we’re going to be patient, we’ll be back next year, and we’ll be ready to assess and see what we need to do better.” <
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