Kennett gets OT win against Bow to advance to D2 field hockey title game (video)

EXETER - The juniors and seniors on the Kennett High School field hockey team have been playing together for so long, their methods of communication don't need to be verbal.

Some times, all it takes is a look.

Georgia Coleman got that look from Ava Gaudette in overtime of Thursday's Division II semifinal and it paid off in a goal, as Gaudette found Coleman for the game-winner, giving No. 2 Kennett a 2-1 win over No. 6 Bow at Bill Ball Stadium in Exeter.

With the win, the Eagles (14-2) move on to the D2 championship game for the first time since 2020, where they will face top-seeded John Stark at 1:30 p.m. Sunday at Bedford High School.

Coleman's goal came just 1:52 into overtime on a penalty corner. After putting the ball in play to Gaudette, Coleman got it back near the post and had nothing but an open goal to put it into.

"I felt pretty confident," Coleman said. "We kind of made eye contact and she had a beautiful little sweep over to me and I just tipped it in, like it should work. It’s definitely a big advantage on corners, just because you have so much space. I felt pretty open and I felt confident with the eye contact."

Sophia Hanson also had a goal for Kennett, as she scored with 3:15 in the first quarter to answer a goal by Bow's Shire Kelley just 3:40 before.

Despite giving up the first goal for the second game in a row, Kennett coach Amanda Werner saw her team respond in a calm manor, with Gaudette leading the way.

"Ava taking the ball and taking over and calming the craziness that was going on," the coach said. "She’s the level-headed one who settles the storm that is the rest of the team.

"They were in a better mindset to come back and they knew it was early. They had the skill to come back and there are very few teams that, when they put it all together, can stop that. They were much calmer on that."

It looked like Bow (12-5) might have taken the lead back early in the second quarter, when the ball deflected into the netting, but officials ruled it hit Kelley on the leg on the way into the cage.

It stayed 1-1 going to halftime and for the third quarter, until the Eagles began putting pressure on Bow's defense. Kennett got a couple of penalty corners late and carried that momentum into the fourth, peppering Falcons goalie Kayla Croscut (13 saves) with shots early in the quarter.

"We moved a few of our captains into different locations," Werner said. "We moved them so they could adjust. Overall, I told them to go back to the basics. Go back to the things you know and the stuff you’re comfortable with."

While Kennett had the majority of chances, Bow had the best chance before the end of regulation.

With about five minutes remaining, the Falcons got the ball behind the Eagles' defense and Ella Gray broke in on Kennett goalie Madison Walcott, with defender Eliana Newton trailing the play.

Walcott came out to try to knock the ball away from Gray, but the Bow junior was able to get off a shot that was headed for the goal. Newton raced back and knocked the ball away from the line just before it went in.

"I know Madison and I knew she’d go out for that ball," Newton said. "I knew immediately when she started stepping, I needed to get behind her or get as close to the ball as possible and get it out.

"She wouldn’t be able to get back to that. Running down there, I knew that was going to happen. I couldn’t tell if it was going in or not, so I just hit it out."

And saved Kennett's season.

"Eliana is incredible," Werner said. "She’s got great stickwork and hand-eye coordination that. She’s kept us in these games. She had a save in the last game and she did it again."

Bow also had a corner late in regulation, but sent the ball over the end line.

Kennett took possession early in the overtime and received a corner in the first minute. Croscut made a pair of saves but a foul on the Falcons gave the Eagles another shot, and this time, Gaudette and Coleman connected.

"I feel like we came out and said either we’re going home and never playing again, or we’re leaving it all out on the field," Coleman said. "Do or die, it’s what we were saying. We were getting a little frustrated. We tried to give it all we had."