Winnacunnet comes back late again to beat Dover in OT, move on to D1 field hockey final (video)

EXETER - Comebacks have been the norm for the Winnacunnet High School field hockey team this season.

So why would Thursday night's Division I semifinal against Dover be any different?

Down and under siege for good portions of the second half, the top-seeded Warriors tied the game with a little more than three minutes left in regulation, and then after each team had chances in overtime, Winnacunnet ended it with 2:28 to go for a 3-2 win over the No. 5 Green Wave at Bill Ball Stadium in Exeter.

"This team is all about not backing down," Winnacunnet coach Heidi Hand said. "They go right to the end. Right when you think they’re letting up, they’re fighting back, and that’s the biggest thing with them. They don’t back down and that showed (Thursday).

"My seniors totally stepped up. You could tell they didn’t want this to be their last game."

That included senior Abby Wilber, who scored all three goals for the Warriors (16-1-1), with senior Grace Vander Els picking up an assist on the game-tying goal. Amber Morgado made six saves and Winnacunnet had just three penalty corners, but took advantage of all three.

Wilber's first goal came just 1:26 in, after the Warriors got a corner in the first minute and were awarded a penalty stroke on the play.

But Dover (14-4) answered right back, getting a goal from Rylen Gray on a corner just 1:09 later to tie the game 1-1. The goal was assisted by Audrey Carter, who had the other Green Wave goal, while Gray also had an assist. Hayley Tosh made six saves and Dover finished with 13 corners.

"We’re the underdogs and we just really work hard," Dover coach Sarah Michaud said. "We only had one senior on the field, so it’s a young team. They’re just passionate and very dedicated and very hard-working. It’s been one of my favorite teams to coach because they love to be together. They probably don’t want to leave the field right now because that means the season is over."

After the opening goals, the teams went back and forth on the field for almost three full quarters. The Green Wave were able to get the ball into the circle and force the Warriors' defense to make a play or draw a corner.

But at the other end, Winnacunnet just couldn't get the extra touch to set up a scoring opportunity.

"We couldn’t finish," Hand said. "We couldn’t force a corner, we couldn’t finish, but they’re right in it. It was right there and it was going to fall. Just keep shooting and it fell."

Before it did, Dover took the lead, as Carter scored on a corner with 3:01 left in the third to make it 2-1. The Green Wave had four more corners over the next 13 minutes but couldn't get another to go.

"Unfortunately, a lot of balls went wide (Thursday)," Michaud said. "We played well, but I think we’ve played better. Sometimes in these high-pressure moments, it’s a lot for these kids. We hadn’t gone to overtime at all this season. It was a great learning experience for us."

With a little more than three minutes to play, Winnacunnet finally got a corner, and a shot by Wilber went past everyone on the near side of the goal, but hit the leg of a Dover defender on the far side and went in, tying the game at 2 with 3:14 left.

The Green Wave had a chance to retake the lead, getting a corner in the final minute, but Carter went down on the play and officials stopped the clocking, meaning she had to leave the game. The Warriors were able to clear the circle and the game went to overtime.

Play continued to go back and forth until Winnacunnet got a corner and Wilber capitalized again, scoring with 2:28 left to put the Warriors in the D1 final for the first time since winning it all in 2018. They'll face No. 2 Exeter at 1:30 p.m. Sunday at Bedford High School.