Windham field hockey makes Ponzini goal hold up to hand Exeter first loss (video)

WINDHAM - Sophia Ponzini couldn't remember exactly what happened on her game-winning goal Tuesday for the Windham High School field hockey team.

But the sophomore did remember taking the ball off the pads of Exeter goalie Clara Gorman and dribbling around her to get a shot at the wide-open goal.

Ponzini's shot found the back of the cage midway through the third quarter and Windham played a combination of solid defense and attack offense to keep the Blue Hawks from creating many chances in a 1-0 win for the Jaguars in a Division I contest.

The loss was the first this season for Exeter (14-1), although the Blue Hawks remained in control for the top seed in the postseason thanks to tiebreakers. Windham (12-2-1) clinched a first-round bye into the quarterfinals with the win.

"This was one of the best field hockey games I’ve been a part of and witnessed," Windham coach Katie Blair said. "Exeter played their hearts out. It’s a great game that we can take good and bad from it. We’ll take something from it and move forward."

A lot of the good came from Ponzini, who, along with Amy Lanouette, Kenzie Suech and Cecilia Ponzini - Sophia's older sister - kept the ball on Exeter's end of the field for most of the day.

"We definitely had a lot of possession, but their defense was very strong," Lanouette said. "Their individual defense was very good, but we were ready for their speed and to play our game. Our lineup was prepared. They have really fast girls. We were smart with our passing, where we went with the ball, when we dribbled, things like that. Nothing was up to chance on our end."

Windham finished the game with seven penalty corners while goalie Annie Mitchell made two saves. Exeter had four corners and Gorman had 11 saves, including two right before Sophia Ponzini's goal.

Moments after Exeter had a shot go wide and hit the outside of the goal, Windham countered and Gorman came out of the net to make a diving stop on a shot by Ava Pelletier. The rebound came out to Ponzini, who fired a shot that went into the pads of Gorman, but bounced right back to her.

With a second chance, Ponzini went around Gorman and another Blue Hawks defender and sent a shot into the goal with 6:12 left in the third quarter.

"When the goalie is far out, you only have to make one move, and the net is wide open," Ponzini said. "I made one move and the net was wide open."

The Jaguars kept the pressure on after the goal, getting a corner moments later, and a shot by Ella Reeners was just wide on the near side of the goal. Ponzini had a chance for another goal after that, but Gorman was able to make a diving stop near the post to keep it a one-goal game.

"With a team like Exeter, you have to keep playing and putting the pressure on them," Blair said. "They’re extremely well-coached and extremely talented. We knew we had to keep going and strive for that second goal."

Exeter had a chance for a breakaway opportunity early in the fourth, but the ball hit off Mackenzie Babine as she was trying to get to the goal. The Blue Hawks got their only corner of the quarter with about 10 minutes to play, but the ball hit an Exeter foot right before going into the goal.

Windham was able to keep Exeter from getting another dangerous look the rest of the way.

"We really had good, connecting passes," Cecilia Ponzini said. "We just hustled back a lot. We were putting in 110 percent trying to get back. It was just a whole team effort.

"It was a huge win. They were undefeated and we really just wanted to beat them. It made a huge statement."