(Fryeburg) “It’s a mystery to us why we can’t score,” said Greely field hockey coach Burgess LaPage.
The Rangers (0-5-1) were shut out, 3-0, by Fryeburg Academy on Thursday afternoon.
While the visitors have only two goals for the season the Raiders (5-2) have scored thirteen times.
The issue for FA was recovering from an 8-0 loss last game (Tuesday) versus Freeport.
“We had a good comeback today,” said FA senior captain Grace Murley afterwards. “We had all our defense for this one.”
Grace had a goal for Fryeburg as did teammates Greta Hermanson and Sharis Santos.
“We certainly played better today than we did for sure on Tuesday,” conceded FA coach Dede Frost post-game.
The Raiders had goals in each of the first three periods this afternoon.
I asked Grace Murley about her goal in the first period. “That goal was on a corner,” she recalled. “It was off a rebound. I just tapped it in.”
Sophomore Greta Hermanson was given an assist on Grace’s goal.
Greta had her own score in the second period.
“It was a cross from Eliza Thorne,” explained Coach Frost.
Eliza came very close to scoring later in that second period, but Greely GK Kate Parkinson made a big stop.
“Kate has been playing incredibly,” said Coach LaPage.
Senior Eliza Thorne was no stranger to Greely. Eliza had three goals during FA’s 3-0 win at Greely earlier in the season.
“We had to adjust for her,” said Coach LaPage. “She moves around a lot.”
Several times Eliza showed speed and dribbling skills to carry the ball for long distances. The Portland Press Herald has Eliza on their list of “Twenty-five Players to Watch.”
Coach Frost described the Raiders final goal as, “super cool.”
“We had a junior (Grace Porcaro) who is new to our team set up a freshman (Sharis Santos) for a goal,” added Coach Frost.
The Rangers had chances, but the FA defense led by Haley Littlefield and GK Rayna Wales kept Greely scoreless.
“We showed up a little flat in the first half,” said Coach LaPage, “but in the second half we were much better. We were stronger and mentally tough.”
“I love playing Fryeburg,” she said. “They’re very intense.”
Coach Frost talking about Eliza Thorne: “She had a hat trick at Greely. They marked her man-to-man in the second half which is exactly what I would have done. Eliza is tough and tenacious.”
Grace Murley: “I am hoping to play field hockey in college somewhere in Massachusetts. I really like Bentley and Babson. I am visiting Bentley next weekend. My captain here when I was a freshman went there and we play the same position.”
Today’s weather was bizarre. It had rained steadily all day and the chance to play this 4PM game seemed small. But Greely was short on makeup-game options, so they headed over from Cumberland. Suddenly at 3:30PM the rain stopped, and the sun showed up. It was as nice as could be for the entire game!
McClelland Miscellanea 