Keene beats Winnacunnet to return to D1 field hockey final (video)

EXETER - The Keene High School field hockey team may have had some new players on the field while playing Tuesday night in the Division I semifinal for the second year in a row.

But any nerves those newcomers might have felt were settled by their teammates who had been there before.

Scoring the game's first goal under five minutes in definitely didn't hurt, either, as No. 1 Keene took the lead early and never let up on the way to a 2-1 victory over No. 4 Winnacunnet at Bill Ball Stadium in Exeter.

The Blackbirds will look to capture their second D1 title in a row in the championship game against No. 2 Bedford, which beat No. 3 Londonderry in the other semifinal, at 7 p.m. Saturday at Bedford High School.

"We tried to set the tone right away so we can play our game and control it," Keene coach Michelle Tiani said. "There’s just a culture with our team right now that we just know what to expect. Even with turning over so many, and having a whole new defensive line, I think the expectation is set. When the girls come in, they just know what to do, and execute the game plan."

Scarlett Miller had a goal and an assist for Keene (16-1-1) and Olive Thatcher got the Blackbirds on the board when she knocked in a centering pass from Miller just 3:47 into the game. Keene kept the pressure on Winnacunnet's defense for long stretches, and when the Warriors tried to counter, the Blackbirds were there to slow them down.

"They have great sticks," Winnacunnet coach Heidi Hand said. "Their sticks are down, their sticks are low, they have a great passing team. They really know how to place the ball.

"The girls played hard right to the end. We had some great corners. We had some shots that were just outside."

Winnacunnet (13-3-2) started to break through the Keene defense late in the third quarter, getting a pair of penalty corners to end the frame and then two more to start the fourth. The Warriors finally broke through on a goal by Maddy Garrant with 7:15 left that fired them up.

But with under five minutes remaining, and in a span of 70 seconds, Winnacunnet was given three green cards, leaving the Warriors with just seven field players at one point.

"We had some great opportunities at the end. I’ve got to give them credit," Hand said. "We had three girls off with penalties and they maintained control and got some opportunities. I kept saying to them we’ve just got to get on the board. It would be a whole different vibe out there. The fire was there, the aggressiveness, and I think we were just getting unlucky. We kept playing."

Winnacunnet was able to stay in the game thanks to goalie Amber Morgado, who finished with 12 saves, including one right after the Warriors scored to keep it a one-goal game.

Miller's goal in the second quarter came off a rebound of a big save by Morgado, as the senior batted down a high shot. But the ball came right to Miller, who had enough space to flip it high into the shortside of the goal to make it 2-0 with 9:15 left in the second quarter.

Keene continued to keep the pressure on, defending Winnacunnet the length of the field.

"I don’t think they have a medium speed," Tiani said. "I think they’re all-in. I think that’s them. I think they’re driven, hard-working individuals all the time, in the classroom, on the field, all the time. They’re just go, go, go. It shows when they choose to do something, they are all-in a hundred percent."