Bedford field hockey gets OT win against Dover (video)

BEDFORD - Eliana Enners was just looking to make something happen.

The Bedford High School field hockey junior got the ball right at the edge of the circle in overtime, and after making sure it was still inside the line, sent a shot toward the goal, hoping that it might find the stick of a teammate.

Instead, the ball hit off the stick of a Dover defender and picked up a little bit more spin, so when it hit the turf, it took an odd bounce and found its way into the netting on the right side of the goal.

After a pausing a moment to await the officials' ruling, the Bulldogs mobbed Enners to celebrate a 3-2 overtime victory against the Green Wave in the final Division I regular-season game for both teams.

"It was just a drive in and it got lucky enough to be tipped in," Enners said. "We do corners a lot, we pride ourselves on our corners, so it was awesome to take the drive and score."

Maxine Morse got an assist on the goal after inserting the ball on the penalty corner just 1:36 into overtime. Sabrina Tipping and Isabelle McStowe also had a goal apiece for Bedford (15-1) and Enners recorded an assist on Tipping's goal.

Trixie Williams had both goals for Dover (10-6) by deflecting shots by Audrey Carter (two assists) on penalty corners. The Green Wave finished with 13 corners, 10 of which came in the second half while Dover dominated possession.

"Coming into the game, we knew Bedford was pretty talented and gets to train on the turf a lot," Dover coach Sarah Michaud said. "We practiced on turf (Tuesday) in preparation for the game and I feel like a lot of the stuff we did translated. I think this is one of the best games we’ve played, not as far as skills and executing corners, but as far as team work and passing and making plays happen."

McStowe gave the Bulldogs the lead with 7:06 left in the first quarter and the Green Wave tied it with 1:03 remaining in the first half on the first goal by Williams.

But Bedford went right down the field in the final minute, getting a corner just before time expired. Tipping was able to control the ball after Enners sent it toward the goal and found the back of the cage to make it 2-1 at the break.

The momentum seemed to be on Bedford's side, but Dover took control right from the start of the second half.

"We told them don’t hold back," Michaud said. "We have 30 minutes left and I need everybody to give me a hundred percent. We came out with a new attitude. It was very impressive. They worked really hard."

The Green Wave pinned the Bulldogs into their own end for most of the second half, double teaming them every time a Bedford player tried to move out with the ball.

"I think we just got a little bit flustered," Bedford senior captain Victoria Falvey said. "I don’t know if it was just the energy that was out here. Dover was playing pretty well. Playing defense for that long can get tiring."

Dover tied the game on a second deflection by Williams with 12:17 remaining and had four more corners after the goal, but couldn't pull ahead. Bedford's Kendal Joyce picked up a yellow card with 1:33 left in regulation, meaning the Green Wave would be up a player in the 7-on-7 overtime.

But the Bulldogs got possession to start the overtime and got a corner moments later.

"With some of our top players on the field, I felt good," Michaud said. "It’s always tough when you don’t start with the ball. I wish we had had possession to start because then you can get momentum. Bedford just has fast players that know how to put the ball in the net."

Enners scored with 8:24 left in overtime to give Bedford its 11th win a row to end the regular season. The Bulldogs will be no worse than the No. 2 seed when the D1 playoffs begin.

"This was huge," Falvey said. "I think we needed to end with a win. I think we have a lot to work on. We set goals at the beginning of the season, individual and team goals, and I think we’ll go over those and reflect on how we’re doing."