Carter's two goals helps lift Dover over Exeter, into D1 field hockey final (video)

EXETER - The Dover High School field hockey team knew Tuesday night was going to be a different game.

Although the Green Wave beat Exeter by three goals during the regular season, they knew the two-time defending champs were going to be a tougher out in a win-or-go-home situation.

Sure enough, the Blue Hawks brought their best, but so did Dover.

Audrey Carter scored both goals for the top-seeded Green Wave and Dover did enough defensively to keep No. 4 Exeter from getting on the board, winning 2-0 in the Division I semifinals at Bill Ball Stadium.

The win sends Dover to the final for the first time since 2020, where it will face No. 2 Windham, which beat Bishop Guertin in the other semifinal, at 4 p.m. on Sunday at Bedford High School.

"Playoffs is a new season, anyone can beat anyone on any day, I always look at it like that," Dover coach Sarah Michaud said. "All season, we’ve been, not struggling to play a full 60 minutes, but I’d say when we play stronger competition, we never played a full 60. There was always a breakdown in one of the quarters.

"(Tuesday) I thought was the first time we were consistent through the whole game. Their effort and their grit to win, and their drive to win, we told them it was going to be a battle, so they came in ready."

Carter scored on a penalty stroke with 8:37 remaining in the first quarter and added an insurance goal with 8:50 left in the third to give the Green Wave (17-0-1) all the scoring they needed. Hayley Tosh had three saves, including a big kick save in the second half that kept Exeter (12-5-1) from scoring.

MarLie Macek had six saves for the Blue Hawks and nearly kept Carter's stroke from going in, but despite getting a piece of it, the ball trickled in to give Dover the early lead.

"Earlier in the season, we also had a stroke against Exeter and I also was the person to take it," Carter said. "It’s hard to score on the same goalie twice. I was definitely nervous, but I just had to lock in and do it for the team. She did get a piece of it. I thought it was a good, hard rip on net, but you never know."

Dover nearly got another goal later in the quarter off a corner. Garen Steiner got down to block a shot by Carter and the rebound went low, toward the post. Players from both teams battled for it and the official signaled the ball went over the end line, just seconds before Green Wave players began to celebrate.

The Blue Hawks started to flip the field after that, getting a corner late in the first quarter, and then creating a couple of chances early in the second, but it was still a 1-0 Dover lead at halftime.

Carter changed that quick in the third quarter, taking the ball on a restart and gliding into the circle before crushing a shot that found the opposite corner of the cage.

"That was huge," Michaud said. "I think I got air when Audrey scored that. That was big because you’re up by two and you can breathe a little bit. At no point in the game did I feel comfortable, but that was really big. Any time you can get up by two, it’s a good feeling."

Hannah DeRoy had a chance to make it a three-goal lead moments later, getting a breakaway off an Exeter turnover, but the Blue Hawks were able to recover in time.

From there, Exeter took control for the rest of the third quarter, putting a pair of shots off the outside of the goal and making Tosh come up with a couple of saves. The Blue Hawks had three corners over the final four minutes of the third, including one with no time left, but weren't able to capitalize.

Dover opened the fourth quarter with a pair of corners and was largely able to keep Exeter from getting any great chances over the final 15 minutes to hang on for the win.