Kylie Nelson didn’t begin playing field hockey until sixth grade.
That is normal in some communities, but not in field hockey-rich Belfast where girls usually start a lot earlier.
“It is definitely late for Belfast,” acknowledged Nelson, who has made up for lost time.
She has scored 36 goals this season and has assisted on 12 more, which has made her one of three finalists for the prestigious Miss Maine Field Hockey award.
One of the other finalists, York High School’s Lily Posternak, also will be on the field on Saturday when the two teams meet for the Class B state championship at McMann Field in Bath at 1 p.m.
Lisbon’s Chase Collier is the other finalist.
Belfast is 16-1 while defending two-time state champ York is 17-0 and has won 53 straight games.
Belfast is making its first state title game appearance since 2012.
In the other state games, Maine Central Institute (15-2) looks to defend its C championship in a rematch with Oak Hill of Sabattus (16-1) at 11 a.m and Skowhegan (13-3-1) seeks its sixth state A championship in seven years and 14th in 16 seasons when it faces 13-3-1 Massabesic of Waterboro at 3.
MCI beat Oak Hill 2-0 in last year’s C final.
Nelson began playing field hockey because her best friend, Anna Baiungo, was involved in it.
“She’s my best friend and we’re still playing together now,” said Nelson, who is a forward and is also an outstanding track athlete.
She combines exceptional stick skills with blazing speed. And what makes her difficult to defend is she can dribble at full speed.
Nelson had a number of scintillating rushes in Belfast’s 2-0 Class B North victory over Lawrence of Fairfield and scored the second goal off a penalty corner.
A number of those rushes were triggered by high flip passes off the stick of junior midfielder Kelsey Mehuren.
“We play together year-round and we’re great together. I’m going to miss her next year,” said Nelson.
The feeling is mutual.
“I love playing with her. We work on that [play] so hard,” said Mehuren. “She means a lot to the team.”
“Kylie is awesome,” said Belfast coach Jan (Holmes) Jackson. “I hope she gets Miss Maine Field Hockey. She deserves it.”
Jackson said she talked to Nelson when she was in eighth grade and knew she was committed to being an outstanding player.
“She is a natural,” said Jackson. “She picked it up [quickly]. She wanted to play indoors and with the Futures program. She has done what she needed to do at home. She set up cones [to work on her dribbling] and has been working on her game ever since.”
Nelson scored 29 goals last season and has followed it up with an even better campaign.
“I feel that I have a better sense of the field and better control of the ball this year,” said Nelson. “I’m a little surprised by my season but my goal was to score more.”
She said she is excited about being a Miss Maine Field Hockey finalist.
“It’s such a great honor. So many girls from Belfast have been [finalists]. It’s special to be one of those girls,” said Nelson.
Nelson will take her field hockey skills to Division I Bryant University in Rhode Island next fall, where she will play for former Old Town High School and University of Maine All-America East standout Shaunessy Saucier.
“I love the school and I love [Saucier],” explained Nelson. “She is so nice. I felt like I would fit right in.”
But she has one more high school game and she is looking forward to it.
“I’ve never been to a state game before. It feels amazing,” said Nelson.
She said her team has great chemistry thanks to the fact they play together all year.
Nelson called Posternak an amazing player.
The dynamic Posternak, who will play for Duke University next fall, is York’s career scoring leader with 80 goals and 52 assists.