Short break helped lead to game-winner for Bedford field hockey

NASHUA - The biggest part to the game-winning goal scored Wednesday night by Eloise Montagano may not have happened on the field.

With the Bedford High School field hockey team in a scoreless battle with Bishop Guertin, Bulldogs coach Kate Gaudreau took the junior forward out in order to give her a quick break.

"Eloise has been a consistent player," the coach said. "It’s her third year playing varsity and she has just been champing at the bit. I had just taken her out and was like don’t worry about scoring, just play your game."

On the sideline, Montagano took a moment, not just for a breather, but to also get a different perspective on what was happening on the field.

"I feel like I have a lot of mental blocks throughout the game, but I feel like coach Gaudreau can tell when I need one," she said of the break. "I feel like getting water, taking a breather, looking at the field to see how the other team is playing really helped me out."

Then, with just under six minutes remaining in the game, the Bulldogs (2-0, No. 5 in the NHHSSports Coach Poll) were finally able to break through the Cardinals' defense.

Ella Putney got the ball upfield to Montagano, who made a nifty move to get past a defender and maneuvered just inside the circle to the left of the cage. Her reverse hit flew through the circle and found its way into the far corner of the goal with 5:23 left in regulation.

"I was dribbling through and I saw an open lane, because I always look up before I shoot," Montagano said. "I just kind of knew what to do, I’ve practiced it a hundred times. I decided to take the chance, I knew it was a little bit risky, and I knew we had time to come back in case it didn’t work out."

She also knew that teammate Maddie Kiely was charging toward the far post, and if the shot wasn't on goal, Kiely might have a chance to tip it in.

"I feel like my skill, I’m able to create open space," Montagano said. "I saw the lane I was able to go through, so I did a quick pull. I saw Maddie on the post, too, so I knew she’d be able to tip it in."

A little less than four minutes later, it was Putney's turn to get a goal of her own to close out the scoring and get the Bulldogs a win it looked like they were going to wrap up earlier.

After Bishop Guertin (1-1, No. 7) came out strong to start the game, Bedford was able to control the pace for long stretches, including in the third quarter, when the Bulldogs were awarded a penalty stroke. Gaudreau had Teagan O'Donnell take the stroke, but her attempt went just wide of the goal.

"(O'Donnell is a) very good field hockey player," Gaudreau said. "I wanted to give her the opportunity. It was a great stroke, it was just wide. We just missed a stroke the other game against Salem."

The miss gave the Cardinals momentum, as they were able to counter with continued pressure of their own. Bishop Guertin has a penalty corner to end the third quarter and two more to open the fourth, but couldn't capitalize.

"That’s usually a momentum changer," Bishop Guertin coach Dakota Bilodeau said of the stroke. "It happens. I think they just made adjustments and read things, it just didn’t go our way (Wednesday).

"We knew it was going to be a good game. Luckily its early in the season and we know we’re not playing our best field hockey yet and there’s a lot more to come."