Junior goalkeeper Allison Hill (Cape Elizabeth) deflected a penalty stroke with 47 seconds remaining to secure a 3-2 field hockey win over Eastern Connecticut Saturday.
A final push in the last minute and a USM penalty in front of the net allowed the Warriors one final chance to send the game into overtime. But it was Hill’s quick reflexes that sent the shot wide and gave the Huskies the conference victory.
“I just get super-mega pumped,” Hill said of the save. “I don’t think. I just react.”
In a tale of two halves, both teams were held scoreless in the second period after a five-goal scoring frenzy in the first.
Without starter and key defensive contributor Brandi Alton (Ripley) the Huskies got things started when Bethany Bougie (Sanford) scored on a penalty shot in the sixth minutes.
But the Warriors weren’t long getting even. Eight minutes after Bougie gave the Huskies their lead, Eastern Connecticut rebutted with a score off a penalty corner.
Strong play in front of the Warrior’s cage then allowed USM to post the next two goals of the contest. Junior Rolinda Mitchell jammed home a goal off a well-placed pass from classmate India Lowe (Gloucester, MA). Lowe then joined in on the scoring effort when she used strong ball control to rifle home an unassisted goal with the 26th minute.
The Warriors made things interesting four minutes later when they pulled within a goal. But that was all the offense they could muster as the Huskies used ball control, speed and strong goalkeeping to stifle the Eastern Connecticut attack for the rest of the game.
“We didn’t play our game. We played their game,” Coach Bonny Brown-Denico said. “Out defense really stepped it up [in the second half].”
USM had plenty of opportunities to score in the second-half, but Eastern Connecticut’s timely change of goalkeepers breathed new life into their defensive front as their new keeper made a number of strong saves.
But for every highlight-reel play Eastern Connecticut made, Hill had an answer. Working angles and closing off defenders, Hill and company thwarted any momentum the Warriors could muster, especially down the stretch.
“Ally Hill is continually on her game. She’s a regional All-American and it’s well deserved,” Brown-Denico said.
Hill’s efforts weren’t the only thing that carried the Huskies to the gutsy win. The Huskies used their speed and ball pressure to wear down the Warriors despite Alton’s absence.
“We started to focus more on marking [in the second half] and we stepped up our intensity. Our pressure was definitely a lot better,” Hill said.
And while the late-game scare and the margin of victory may not have been exactly what Brown-Denico was searching for, she was glad to walk away with the all-important conference victory.
“You always take the win no matter how you play,” she said.
The win pushes the Huskies record to 3-4 overall and 2-1 in the LEC.