WATERVILLE, Maine — Maine Central Institute freshman midfielder Madisyn Hartley wasn’t sure what to do when the rebound of an April McAlpine shot landed in front of her at the top of the penalty circle with 11:35 left in their Class C North field hockey championship against Dexter on Tuesday.
“I didn’t know if I should hit it or not. So I just took the shot, and it went in,” said Hartley, whose goal gave the Huskies their first ever regional title by virtue of a 2-1 triumph.
Her shot from the right side nestled in the short-side corner.
The 13-4 Huskies will face Oak Hill of Wales, a 3-0 winner over Lisbon in the South final in Portland, in Saturday’s 4 p.m. state final at the University of Maine in Orono.
“It was a nice shot,” said MCI coach Nancy Hughes. “Madisyn has great stick skills. She is all over the place. She picks the ball up and has a great presence of where to put it and where to be on the field.”
Dexter coach Margaret Veazie and her players felt the shot came from outside the circle, so it shouldn’t have counted.
“She was definitely outside the circle,” insisted distraught Dexter senior goalkeeper Kaitlyn Paquin, who turned in a superb nine-save performance to keep her team within striking distance.
“I was inside the circle. I looked down,” stated Hartley.
Paquin made six first-half saves, including four off senior forward Kali Doiron, as the teams were scoreless at the intermission. Paquin made two rapid-fire stops off Doiron in the first minute.
Sophomore forward Addi Williams’ sixth goal in three playoff games gave MCI the lead early in the second half thanks to a nifty pass from Victoria Friend.
Paquin made a nice save off April McAlpine’s powerful shot, but Friend chased down the rebound near the end line and flipped it across to Williams, who shoveled it home from six yards out.
Morgann Wyman equalized for Dexter off a penalty corner.
Katie Batron inserted the ball to Abby Webber at the top of the penalty circle. Webber, who was a constant threat, fired a low shot to MCI goalie Mikayla Carr’s left, and Wyman was positioned perfectly to direct it inside the near side post.
“It was a pretty even match,” said Hughes. “We were quicker and our stick skills were a little stronger.”
Hughes said she was pleased that her team didn’t get discouraged after Dexter tied it.
“We have too many offensive weapons to allow one goal to get us down,” she said. “Their goalie made some great saves, especially in the first half.”
“We played great. We stepped it up,” said Williams.
“We played a very good game. Our defense was real strong,” said MCI sweeper Taylor Hall.
MCI had 13 shots to Dexter’s eight. Carr made one save for the Huskies.
“It was a good game,” said Veazie. “You have to make plays at the end. You have to come through when the going gets tough. We didn’t.”
She said her team shouldn’t have been in the position to allow a controversial goal to beat them.
Emily McAlpine, Hall, Williams, Hartley and Doiron were among the standouts for MCI while Christie Nicholas, Rebecca Batron, Webber, Grace Belanger and Paquin turned in impressive performances for 14-3 Dexter.