Exeter comes back late to beat Windham, capture D1 field hockey title (video)

BEDFORD - There were plenty of reasons for Addison MacNeil and her Exeter High School field hockey teammates to feel frustrated late in Sunday's Division I championship game.

The Blue Hawks had a goal in the opening minutes waved off. They'd bounced shots off both posts and the cross bar. And despite having nine more penalty corners than Windham, they were still down by a goal.

None of that was on MacNeil's mind when she took a shot from the top of the circle on another corner with about six minutes to play. When the ball found its way through the crowd and into the back of the net, the Blue Hawks' focus became getting one more and they did.

MacNeil sent a reverse shot into the goal with 1:50 remaining to complete No. 1 Exeter's comeback, as the Blue Hawks scored twice in the final six minutes to beat No. 3 Windham 2-1 in the title game at Bedford High School.

It's the first title for the Blue Hawks (18-1) since 2013, and the second in program history.

"After shooting and hitting the post, hitting the crossbar, it felt like we were right there," MacNeil said. "We were able to pull through. We just decided to keep level heads and play our game."

Lindsay Ducharme assisted on the first of MacNeil's goals and Clara Gorman made four saves for Exeter, as it avenged its only loss of the season, a 1-0 defeat at Windham on Oct. 12.

"There would have been no one else I would have wanted to play in the championship game because they are such a well-skilled program," Exeter coach Deb Grott said. "They have amazing players that can think the game, that have incredible stick work, so to come up against an opponent like that, it could have been anybody’s game.

"We could play them 10 more times and they’re going to win some and we’re going to win some. The fact we lost to them during the regular season and to come back and play them and win, it’s a great feeling. We had to tweak some things because they are a hard opponent to beat. You can’t get flustered, you can’t get frustrated, you’ve just got to keep going until that last second ticks off."

Windham (15-3-1) got its goal from Amy Lanouette, who scored on a penalty stroke with 7:08 left in the third quarter. Sophia Ponzini nearly made it a 2-0 lead for the Jaguars moments after the stroke, getting a breakaway opportunity, but a foul was called right before she struck a reverse shot that went into the goal.

Annie Mitchell made 11 saves for Windham, several of which came in succession, as the Jaguars kept the Blue Hawks scoreless for the first 54 minutes despite Exeter holding a 15-2 edge in corners.

"You’ve got to keep going," Windham coach Katie Blair said of her message after Lanouette's goal. "This game is not done. We knew it was going to come down to the end."

Exeter came out quick to start the game, keeping the ball in Windham's end early, and it looked like the Blue Hawks grabbed an early lead when a shot from outside the circle was deflected into the goal. But officials ruled the deflection came off a Windham stick and waved it off.

"When they called that first one back, you know the officials know what they’re doing, so you don’t question it," Grott said. "You’ve just got to try again. That’s what we’ve been working with them to do, you can’t get mad. That pulls you down and we didn’t want that to happen."

Exeter came right back, getting a couple of shots off that Mitchell stopped and the Blue Hawks finished the quarter with five corners, then had four more to start the second.

Windham got its first shot on goal late in the half and had its first corner in the closing seconds, but a shot attempt went wide past the end line. The Jaguars carried that momentum into the start of the third quarter, but another long shot into the circle went through without getting tipped.

"We started great," Blair said. "We came out and made a few adjustments, they had a lot of fire behind them. I was happy with the way we started the half."

The Blue Hawks answered quickly with a rush of their own, as Mitchell made a couple of saves and got some help from the post. Exeter was awarded a corner after the scrum and a reverse shot by Mackenzie Babine clanged off the crossbar.

"I don’t know what happens during that time," Mitchell said. "My body just takes over and I don’t even think about it. I just do what I have to do to save it."

Moments later, Windham got a corner at the other end, and after the ball was covered up, the Jaguars were awarded a penalty stroke. Lanouette stepped up and put a shot just inside the right post and barely out of the reach of Gorman to make it 1-0.

"It’s super nerve-wracking be put up there, you and the goalie," Lanouette said. "I was very confident and I knew it had to go in. I lined up and put it away, that’s all you can ask for."

After Ponzini almost made it 2-0, Exeter came back with a chance late in the third, but Mitchell came up with another save and Kenzie Suech cleared the circle on the ensuing corner.

Exeter put another shot off the post with just under seven minutes to play, but got another corner moments later, and this time, MacNeil delivered. The junior stopped the ball just outside the circle and it rolled back in as she started her swing.

"I didn’t really know I had scored," MacNeil said. "I shot and I hoped that some tipped it in or it went in. As soon as it’s tied, everyone’s energy goes higher than it was before because you’re either thinking overtime or one more goal or their going to score. It’s all these different thoughts."

The second goal also came on a corner, but this time, MacNeil's first shot was blocked, but the ball came back to her and she was able to maneuver to a spot where she could take a clear reverse hit.

"Addison is a beautiful field hockey player, both in mind and with the stick," Grott said. "The other teams look for her because they know she is good, but she makes others around her good and that’s what she did with this team."