Ponies rally past Belfast
Scoreboard B6 High school roundup B7 Thursday, October 22, 2015
SPORTS
Page B5
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Speedy Huskies beat Boothbay 4-0 MCI to play Mount View in semifinal BY LARRY MAHONEY BDN STAFF
PITTSFIELD — It’s always good to score early in a playoff game. That is exactly what the Maine Central Institute field hockey team did on Wednesday, receiving goals from freshman forward Victoria FIELD Friend and senior HOCKEY forward Kali PLAYOFFS Doiron in the first 5:47 en route to an impressive 4-0 triumph over Boothbay Region in their North Class C quarterfinal. The second-seeded Huskies (114) host No. 3 Mount View of Thorndike (10-5) in Saturday’s 1 p.m. semifinal. Sophomore forward Addi Williams made it 3-0 later in the first half and added another goal in the second half. Senior goalkeeper Mikayla Carr wound up with two saves on five shots. Junior Erica Eames played well in defeat for the No. 7 Seahawks (7-8), making 13 saves on 31 shots. “We really talked about how it is important to set that tone [early],” said MCI coach Nancy Hughes. “The longer we go without scoring, the more we let another team think that they’re in the game. We want to take them out of the game early.” “Their speed and quickness set us back in the beginning, and it took us time to recover,” said Boothbay coach Donna Jordan. “We played a very good team today.” “Their passing was very quick, and they came at us hard. They were the best team we’ve played this season. I was impressed,” said standout Boothbay senior center back Meghan Oakes. “This was one of our best games of the season,” said Doiron. “We hustled to every ball and made sure we got there before they did.” Friend opened the scoring just 3:20 into the game from close range. “[Eames] made a save, and Kali hit it back through the goalie’s legs,” said Friend. “I knew I had to get my stick on the ground. It was a perfect angle.” Doiron expanded the lead just 2:27 later by directing a Madisyn Hartley shot past Eames.
FA to play Winslow in semifinal round BY ERNIE CLARK BDN STAFF
ASHLEY L. CONTI | BDN
Maine Central Institute’s Kali Doiron (right) tries to move the ball around Boothbay’s Jo Shaw during their field hockey game in Pittsfield on Wednesday. MCI won 4-0.
across the circle was directed in by Doiron. “I was at my little place on the far post,” said Doiron. Williams made it 3-0 with 1:29 left in the half as Allison Hughes’ shot from the top of the circle heeled off her stick and rolled to her. “I took a big step back and hoped for the best. I aimed for the opposite corner,” grinned Williams, whose shot slipped past the right side of Eames. Williams capped the scoring in the second half when she shoveled home a McAlpine rebound after McAlpine had made a scintillating run to get herself into a shooting lane. Omnipresent senior sweeper Taylor Hall headlined MCI’s ASHLEY L. CONTI | BDN defensive effort, winning a lot Maine Central Institute’s Madisyn Hartley (right) gets tripped up by of balls and dribbling out of Boothbay’s Samantha Carter during their field hockey game in Pittsdanger before moving the ball field on Wednesday. up to the midfielders or forwards. A nifty passing sequence involv- Friend took a pass from McAlpine Oakes and dynamic sophomore ing April McAlpine, Friend and and sent it across to the right side forward Sydney Meader were Hartley set up Doiron’s goal. to Hartley, whose powerful shot standouts for the Seahawks.
Deep Orono squad eager for regionals BELFAST — The last time the Orono Red Riots raced on the 3.1-mile cross-country course at the Troy Howard Middle School, they got a surprise. GIRLS LaSalle Academy of Providence, CROSS COUNTRY Rhode Island, ranked 11th nationally, signed up for the Maine Cross Country Festival of Champions on short notice after the meet it planned to run that day in North Carolina was canceled due to wet weather related to Hurricane Joaquin. LaSalle swept to the FOC title in hurricane-like fashion, with four of the top five finishers en route to a meet-record low total of 30 points. Orono, the two-time defending Maine Class C champion and runner-up at the 2014 FOC, finished 90 points behind in second place. “It was such an amazing opportunity to race against them because they’re ranked so high nationally and all of them are so phenomenal as individuals,” said Orono junior Kassidy Dill. See Orono, Page B8
BY PETE WARNER BDN STAFF
GLENDON RAND PHOTO
The leaders in the girls seeded race at the Maine Cross Country Festival of Champions pass the three-quarter-mile mark at Troy Howard Middle School in Belfast on Oct. 4. Pictured (from left) are Kassidy Dill and Tia Tardy of Orono, Amy Laverty of Cumberland, Rhode Island, Amanda Boyd of John Bapst, Anne Guadalupi of Cony, Anne McKee of Kents Hill and Hannah Steelman of Orono.
Estrada, Tulowitzki help Blue Jays stay alive in ALCS TORONTO — Marco Estrada pitched into the eighth inning, Troy Tulowitzki had three RBIs and the Toronto Blue Jays staved off elimination MLB with a 7-1 victory over the Kansas PLAYOFFS City Royals on Wednesday in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series. Estrada (2-1) faced one batter above the minimum before Royals catcher Salvador Perez homered to right with two outs in the eighth inning. When left fielder Alex Gordon followed with a single, right-hand-
DOVER-FOXCROFT — Alli Bourget’s goal on the eighth set of overtime penalty corners lifted Foxcroft Academy to a come-frombehind 3-2 win over Belfast in their Class B North field hockey quarterfinal on Wednesday afternoon. The victory advances the thirdseeded Ponies (13-2) to a semifinal SatFIELD urday at No. 2 WinHOCKEY slow, which edged PLAYOFFS Oceanside of Rockland/Thomaston 2-1 in overtime in its quarterfinal. No. 6 Belfast finished with an 11-4 record. The game-winner came just after Ponies’ coach Stephanie Smith switched Bourget’s twin sister, Abbi, with Avery Carroll positionally along the edge of the circle, primarily to get Carroll’s strong shot in position to challenge the Belfast goal. But the ball made its way to Abbi Bourget to the left of the cage, and she crossed it to Alli Bourget, who quickly redirected the ball past Belfast goalie Morgan Fernald. “Coach mixed us around,” said Abbi Bourget. “She moved me to the corner, and the ball came there, and we sent it across, and Alli popped it in.” The celebration that ensued seemed unlikely after Belfast scored twice unanswered in the first half, the first goal by Kylie Nelson 8:16 into the match and the second when Anna Baiungo redirected a Sabrina Wood shot off Chadbourne’s left leg pad with 9:07 left before intermission. “I was nervous and I’m pretty sure everyone else was,” said Alli Bourget. “But we just stepped it up and gave it all we had.” Smith also made a strategic change during the break that not only helped Foxcroft tie the match but held Belfast without a shot in the second half. “In the first half we were being See Ponies, Page B8
Coaches pick UM women to chase Albany for hoops title
BY ERNIE CLARK BDN STAFF
THE SPORTS XCHANGE
Ponies rally past Belfast
er Aaron Sanchez replaced Estrada. Right fielder Alex Rios singled and shortstop Alcides Escobar flied to right to end the inning. Estrada allowed one run, three hits and one walk with five strikeouts in 7 2/3 innings. The Royals lead the best-of-seven series 3-2, with Game 6 scheduled for Friday at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Mo. Tulowitzki doubled with the bases loaded against right-handed reliever Kelvin Herrera for the only hit in the four-run sixth inning. Royals right-hander Edinson Volquez (1-2) did not retire a batter
in Toronto’s four-run sixth. He allowed five runs, three hits and four walks and hit a batter in fiveplus innings. Estrada retired Escobar on a grounder to third on the first pitch of the game. It was the first time in the ALCS that Escobar failed to lead off a game with a hit. The four straight games with a leadoff hit are a postseason record. First baseman Chris Colabello homered with one out in the second inning to give the Blue Jays a 1-0 lead. It was his second postseason homer. After Colabello’s homer, Volquez allowed a walk in the sec-
ond inning and infield hits in the fourth and fifth. Estrada retired the first nine hitters before Escobar led off the fourth with a single, but he was erased when second baseman Ben Zobrist grounded into a double play. The Royals were having little luck with Estrada, although Perez brought a gasp from the crowd with a long fly open the sixth that center fielder Kevin Pillar caught at the warning track. Left fielder Ben Revere led off the Toronto sixth with a walk and third baseman Josh Donaldson was hit by a pitch. See ALCS, Page B8
The University of Maine women’s basketball team enjoyed its best season in 10 years last winter. With a veteran roster that includes eight seniors and all five returning starters, coach Richard Barron’s Black Bears appear to be a legitimate threat to win the America East championship. That’s the consensus of the league’s head coaches, who picked UMaine to finish second this season in its preseason poll that was released on Wednesday. Four-time defending champion Albany remains the favorite. Coach Kay Abrahamson Henderson’s team received six of a possible nine first-place votes and tallied 62 points. UMaine scored 58 points, picking up two first-place votes from the coaches, who are not permitted to vote for their own teams in the sampling. New Hampshire (44 points, one first-place vote), Stony Brook (40 points) and Hartford (39) completed the top five. Rounding out the poll were Maryland Baltimore County with 34 points, followed by UMass Lowell (18), Vermont (15) and Binghamton (14). The Black Bears, who shared the regular-season title with UAlbany, also placed two players on the preseason America East AllConference team. Senior forward Liz Wood and junior guard Sigi Koizar were recognized along with two-time league player of the year See UMaine, Page B8
SPORTS
Page B5
bangordailynews.com
Speedy Huskies beat Boothbay 4-0 MCI to play Mount View in semifinal BY LARRY MAHONEY BDN STAFF
PITTSFIELD — It’s always good to score early in a playoff game. That is exactly what the Maine Central Institute field hockey team did on Wednesday, receiving goals from freshman forward Victoria FIELD Friend and senior HOCKEY forward Kali PLAYOFFS Doiron in the first 5:47 en route to an impressive 4-0 triumph over Boothbay Region in their North Class C quarterfinal. The second-seeded Huskies (114) host No. 3 Mount View of Thorndike (10-5) in Saturday’s 1 p.m. semifinal. Sophomore forward Addi Williams made it 3-0 later in the first half and added another goal in the second half. Senior goalkeeper Mikayla Carr wound up with two saves on five shots. Junior Erica Eames played well in defeat for the No. 7 Seahawks (7-8), making 13 saves on 31 shots. “We really talked about how it is important to set that tone [early],” said MCI coach Nancy Hughes. “The longer we go without scoring, the more we let another team think that they’re in the game. We want to take them out of the game early.” “Their speed and quickness set us back in the beginning, and it took us time to recover,” said Boothbay coach Donna Jordan. “We played a very good team today.” “Their passing was very quick, and they came at us hard. They were the best team we’ve played this season. I was impressed,” said standout Boothbay senior center back Meghan Oakes. “This was one of our best games of the season,” said Doiron. “We hustled to every ball and made sure we got there before they did.” Friend opened the scoring just 3:20 into the game from close range. “[Eames] made a save, and Kali hit it back through the goalie’s legs,” said Friend. “I knew I had to get my stick on the ground. It was a perfect angle.” Doiron expanded the lead just 2:27 later by directing a Madisyn Hartley shot past Eames.
FA to play Winslow in semifinal round BY ERNIE CLARK BDN STAFF
ASHLEY L. CONTI | BDN
Maine Central Institute’s Kali Doiron (right) tries to move the ball around Boothbay’s Jo Shaw during their field hockey game in Pittsfield on Wednesday. MCI won 4-0.
across the circle was directed in by Doiron. “I was at my little place on the far post,” said Doiron. Williams made it 3-0 with 1:29 left in the half as Allison Hughes’ shot from the top of the circle heeled off her stick and rolled to her. “I took a big step back and hoped for the best. I aimed for the opposite corner,” grinned Williams, whose shot slipped past the right side of Eames. Williams capped the scoring in the second half when she shoveled home a McAlpine rebound after McAlpine had made a scintillating run to get herself into a shooting lane. Omnipresent senior sweeper Taylor Hall headlined MCI’s ASHLEY L. CONTI | BDN defensive effort, winning a lot Maine Central Institute’s Madisyn Hartley (right) gets tripped up by of balls and dribbling out of Boothbay’s Samantha Carter during their field hockey game in Pittsdanger before moving the ball field on Wednesday. up to the midfielders or forwards. A nifty passing sequence involv- Friend took a pass from McAlpine Oakes and dynamic sophomore ing April McAlpine, Friend and and sent it across to the right side forward Sydney Meader were Hartley set up Doiron’s goal. to Hartley, whose powerful shot standouts for the Seahawks.
Deep Orono squad eager for regionals BELFAST — The last time the Orono Red Riots raced on the 3.1-mile cross-country course at the Troy Howard Middle School, they got a surprise. GIRLS LaSalle Academy of Providence, CROSS COUNTRY Rhode Island, ranked 11th nationally, signed up for the Maine Cross Country Festival of Champions on short notice after the meet it planned to run that day in North Carolina was canceled due to wet weather related to Hurricane Joaquin. LaSalle swept to the FOC title in hurricane-like fashion, with four of the top five finishers en route to a meet-record low total of 30 points. Orono, the two-time defending Maine Class C champion and runner-up at the 2014 FOC, finished 90 points behind in second place. “It was such an amazing opportunity to race against them because they’re ranked so high nationally and all of them are so phenomenal as individuals,” said Orono junior Kassidy Dill. See Orono, Page B8
BY PETE WARNER BDN STAFF
GLENDON RAND PHOTO
The leaders in the girls seeded race at the Maine Cross Country Festival of Champions pass the three-quarter-mile mark at Troy Howard Middle School in Belfast on Oct. 4. Pictured (from left) are Kassidy Dill and Tia Tardy of Orono, Amy Laverty of Cumberland, Rhode Island, Amanda Boyd of John Bapst, Anne Guadalupi of Cony, Anne McKee of Kents Hill and Hannah Steelman of Orono.
Estrada, Tulowitzki help Blue Jays stay alive in ALCS TORONTO — Marco Estrada pitched into the eighth inning, Troy Tulowitzki had three RBIs and the Toronto Blue Jays staved off elimination MLB with a 7-1 victory over the Kansas PLAYOFFS City Royals on Wednesday in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series. Estrada (2-1) faced one batter above the minimum before Royals catcher Salvador Perez homered to right with two outs in the eighth inning. When left fielder Alex Gordon followed with a single, right-hand-
DOVER-FOXCROFT — Alli Bourget’s goal on the eighth set of overtime penalty corners lifted Foxcroft Academy to a come-frombehind 3-2 win over Belfast in their Class B North field hockey quarterfinal on Wednesday afternoon. The victory advances the thirdseeded Ponies (13-2) to a semifinal SatFIELD urday at No. 2 WinHOCKEY slow, which edged PLAYOFFS Oceanside of Rockland/Thomaston 2-1 in overtime in its quarterfinal. No. 6 Belfast finished with an 11-4 record. The game-winner came just after Ponies’ coach Stephanie Smith switched Bourget’s twin sister, Abbi, with Avery Carroll positionally along the edge of the circle, primarily to get Carroll’s strong shot in position to challenge the Belfast goal. But the ball made its way to Abbi Bourget to the left of the cage, and she crossed it to Alli Bourget, who quickly redirected the ball past Belfast goalie Morgan Fernald. “Coach mixed us around,” said Abbi Bourget. “She moved me to the corner, and the ball came there, and we sent it across, and Alli popped it in.” The celebration that ensued seemed unlikely after Belfast scored twice unanswered in the first half, the first goal by Kylie Nelson 8:16 into the match and the second when Anna Baiungo redirected a Sabrina Wood shot off Chadbourne’s left leg pad with 9:07 left before intermission. “I was nervous and I’m pretty sure everyone else was,” said Alli Bourget. “But we just stepped it up and gave it all we had.” Smith also made a strategic change during the break that not only helped Foxcroft tie the match but held Belfast without a shot in the second half. “In the first half we were being See Ponies, Page B8
Coaches pick UM women to chase Albany for hoops title
BY ERNIE CLARK BDN STAFF
THE SPORTS XCHANGE
Ponies rally past Belfast
er Aaron Sanchez replaced Estrada. Right fielder Alex Rios singled and shortstop Alcides Escobar flied to right to end the inning. Estrada allowed one run, three hits and one walk with five strikeouts in 7 2/3 innings. The Royals lead the best-of-seven series 3-2, with Game 6 scheduled for Friday at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Mo. Tulowitzki doubled with the bases loaded against right-handed reliever Kelvin Herrera for the only hit in the four-run sixth inning. Royals right-hander Edinson Volquez (1-2) did not retire a batter
in Toronto’s four-run sixth. He allowed five runs, three hits and four walks and hit a batter in fiveplus innings. Estrada retired Escobar on a grounder to third on the first pitch of the game. It was the first time in the ALCS that Escobar failed to lead off a game with a hit. The four straight games with a leadoff hit are a postseason record. First baseman Chris Colabello homered with one out in the second inning to give the Blue Jays a 1-0 lead. It was his second postseason homer. After Colabello’s homer, Volquez allowed a walk in the sec-
ond inning and infield hits in the fourth and fifth. Estrada retired the first nine hitters before Escobar led off the fourth with a single, but he was erased when second baseman Ben Zobrist grounded into a double play. The Royals were having little luck with Estrada, although Perez brought a gasp from the crowd with a long fly open the sixth that center fielder Kevin Pillar caught at the warning track. Left fielder Ben Revere led off the Toronto sixth with a walk and third baseman Josh Donaldson was hit by a pitch. See ALCS, Page B8
The University of Maine women’s basketball team enjoyed its best season in 10 years last winter. With a veteran roster that includes eight seniors and all five returning starters, coach Richard Barron’s Black Bears appear to be a legitimate threat to win the America East championship. That’s the consensus of the league’s head coaches, who picked UMaine to finish second this season in its preseason poll that was released on Wednesday. Four-time defending champion Albany remains the favorite. Coach Kay Abrahamson Henderson’s team received six of a possible nine first-place votes and tallied 62 points. UMaine scored 58 points, picking up two first-place votes from the coaches, who are not permitted to vote for their own teams in the sampling. New Hampshire (44 points, one first-place vote), Stony Brook (40 points) and Hartford (39) completed the top five. Rounding out the poll were Maryland Baltimore County with 34 points, followed by UMass Lowell (18), Vermont (15) and Binghamton (14). The Black Bears, who shared the regular-season title with UAlbany, also placed two players on the preseason America East AllConference team. Senior forward Liz Wood and junior guard Sigi Koizar were recognized along with two-time league player of the year See UMaine, Page B8
