Bishop Guertin field hockey scores early and late to beat Dover (video)

NASHUA - The Bishop Guertin High School field hockey team uses its athleticism and speed to score quick.

Dover found that out the hard way Saturday afternoon.

Rylee Bouvier gave the Cardinals a lead they'd never give up just 48 seconds into the game and the defense withstood a furious response by the Green Wave, but Bishop Guertin was able to hold on for a 2-0 win in a Division I game at Stellos Stadium.

Skylar Naftali also had a goal for the Cardinals, scoring in the fourth quarter off a feed from Bouvier to give Bishop Guertin (6-0-1) a more comfortable lead. Taylor Guibord added an assist on Bouvier's goal and Makenna Reekie made four saves.

The effort of the defense - led by Reekie, Stephanie Reap, Kamryn Schmitt and Julia Johnson - in the first quarter kept the Cardinals in front, as Dover (3-4) was able to keep the ball in Bishop Guertin's end after the opening goal.

"They kept fighting and wouldn’t give up," Bishop Guertin coach Erica Chareth said. "They work well together. We definitely have a really athletic group and that helps. We have all these legs that can keep running in this heat."

The fast start seemed to catch the Green Wave by surprise, and playing just their second game of the year on turf, it took a little bit of time to adjust to the speed of the game.

"I knew coming into this that BG is a very strong team," Dover coach Sarah Michaud said. "They’re a team full of athletes that, they’re not necessarily field hockey players, but they’re athletes. They’re tough, they’re physical. We’ve been trying to work on our mental toughness and not trying to give up on the play. I knew it was going to be tough but I thought we played awesome though."

The Green Wave looked like they tied the game moments after the Cardinals' goal, but a shot into the circle wasn't touched by a Dover player before being deflected up into the net. The Green Wave did get three penalty corners in the frame, but only got one shot off and Reekie came up with a save.

Play evened out in the second quarter, with Bishop Guertin able to get a couple of scoring chances, including on two corners early in the frame. The Cardinals nearly made it a two-goal lead but a shot by Guibord was tipped just wide of the cage.

Dover had three more corners late in the half, but couldn't get a shot on the first two and Reekie came up with another save on the third.

"One our biggest struggles right now is scoring and figuring out how to put the ball in," Michaud said. "We’re generating corners, we’re generating shots, we’re not picking up the rebounds. I told them if we get scored on, we have to answer back right away, which we did. That was a weird ‘I can’t believe that just went in’ and then they really answered back in a good way."

Bouvier almost got a second goal in the opening minutes of the third quarter, but Dover goalie Hayley Tosh (five saves) stopped her attempt and the Bishop Guertin senior sent the rebound wide of the goal.

The Cardinals finally got that two-goal lead with 6:52 remaining in the game, when Bouvier sent the ball from the left to the right side of the field, and Naftali raced behind the Dover defense to get the ball. Her goal allowed Chareth to relax a little on the sideline.

"We switched fields and had little speedy Skylar in there," the coach said. "Right place, right time and that was great. I can breath for the first time. I was happy we were up by one, but I was by no means comfortable. It was a very back-and-forth game and Dover gave us a great fight."