Bishop Guertin field hockey scores quick to get past Windham (video)

NASHUA - It may be a new year, but the Bishop Guertin High School field hockey team had last season on its collective mind.

The players who returned this year remembered what it was like watching Windham advance to the Division I championship game, after beating the Cardinals in overtime in the semifinals to end their 2023 season.

Bishop Guertin got what it was looking for Wednesday night, scoring in bunches on the way to a 5-0 win over Windham at Stellos Stadium. It was the Cardinals' first win over the Jaguars after going 0-8-1 against them, including two losses in the final four.

Sophie Bilodeau had three goals to lead Bishop Guertin (8-1, No. 5 in the NHHSSports Coaches Poll) while Maddie Harrington and Addison Daddona each had a goal and an assist.

"We really wanted it bad," Harrington said. "Everyone wanted to come out strong due to last year’s loss."

The Cardinals did come out strong, but it took until the second quarter to get on the board. After having three penalty corners in the final five minutes of the first, Bilodeau put Bishop Guertin on the board in transition, scoring on a centering pass from Daddona.

Just 1:53 later, Harrington double the lead, sending in a drive from just inside the top of the circle for a 2-0 lead.

"We know they’re a really good program," Bishop Guertin coach Dakota Bilodeau said. "We knew we were going to have to come in and play hot and play fast. We had to use our passing, which is something we’ve been working on.

"Just playing for all 60 minutes. That’s an adjustment that we’ve made over the last few games, just playing through. (Wednesday) we played through a lot of whistles and we made adjustments and we made them fast."

Windham (2-6) was able to hold the Cardinals off for the rest of the half and through the third quarter, but had trouble sustaining any kind of offensive pressure. The Jaguars finished with just one corner while goalie Dana McAleer made nine saves.

"Last year, we had our game and everyone tried to play up to us," Windham coach Sophia Poulin said. "This year, we’re on the flip side. How do we play to everybody else’s game and do the best that we can? The shift has been tough, but I think they’re there and we’re just growing."

Bishop Guertin added to its opportunities early in the fourth, getting a run of corners and finally scoring on one. Sophie Bilodeau put home a rebound on a corner to make it 3-0 with 10:24 to play.

And just like the Cardinals did in the second quarter, they didn't wait long to add to the lead, as Daddona made it 4-0 just 26 seconds later.

Sophie Bilodeau got her third goal of the game with 5:03 remaining to close out the scoring.