DEXTER– The Dexter Tigers field hockey team scored early and their defense took care of the rest in a 1-0 win over Orono on Friday afternoon at Dexter high school.
The young Tigers scored just 3:29 into the contest when sophomore Tina Lawson set up freshman Rayna Bernard. Dexter (6-3) outshot the Red Riots 9-7. Orono came out with a spark in the second half and put five shots on goal in the final 30 minutes.
“They (Orono) are a very fast team. They rotate a lot of players in and out,”Dexter coach Brittany McAllister said. “That wore us down, but our defense has come through all year and they really came through for us today.”
Shawnee McNally came up big in goal for the Tigers. She made five saves including two in the final minutes. McNally and Amanda Haskell have split time in goal this season. They have combined to record four shutouts in the last five games.
“We have had awesome goalie play from both of our goalies all season, “McAllister said. “They have switched off and on all year. They both have been solid.”
Dexter had 11 offensive corners but couldn’t convert those opportunities. With five games left in the regular season before the playoffs, McAllister is hoping those corners will result in goals.
“I would love to see more scoring. We get a lot of offensive corners, we haven’t been able to capitalize like I would like to see,”McAllister said. “That comes from the youth we have up front, they are still learning. Hopefully by the end we will put it all together.”
The Tigers with a first year coach and a youthful team started the season 1-3. Dexter has won five straight since and has outscored opponents 12-1 during that stretch.
“We finally realized how to play together. We lost a lot of starters from last year’s team,”McAllister said. “We have a lot of younger players and they are coming together.”
Dexter is scheduled to play at Mount View on Tuesday. Riley Andre had five saves for the Red Riots. Orono (3-6) will look to snap a five game losing streak when they travel to Lincoln for a matchup with Mattanawcook on Monday.
Dexter gets ready before a game with Orono on September 28th. Photo from Marc Calnan
