Dover-Sherborn knocks off No. 1 Sandwich in field hockey

With 11:11 left in the Division 2 South field hockey final, frustration flipped to frenzy for Dover-Sherborn.

After coming up empty on their first 14 corners of the contest, the third-seeded Raiders struck gold on their 15th try as junior Emma Goodness redirected a Caity O’Connell shot for the game’s only goal in a 1-0 win over top-seeded Sandwich on Saturday morning at Taunton High.

The win earns D-S its first sectional crown since going back-to-back in 2013-14 and puts the Raiders (19-1-2) into Tuesday’s state semifinals against North champion Lynnfield (site/time TBA).

“There is talent there, but to their credit they care about the team and not their own statistics, and I think that makes a huge difference,” said D-S coach Dara Johnson of her squad.

Having little luck beating Sandwich and goalie Sarah Currey from the top of the circle, D-S went to O’Connell on the near left wing and her offering found Goodness in front.

“It was in the air and I kind of just stuck my stick out. . .and it hit the backboard,” said Goodness. “Everyone crowded around me and we were all jumping and screaming. It was a really great feeling.”

The Raiders had to hold off some late pressure from the Blue Knights (19-2-1), but Sabrina Ryan made a blocker save on Macey White with eight minutes remaining and D-S thwarted a Sandwich corner out of a timeout with 1:05 to play.

Currey kept Sandwich in it in the first half, making multiple clutch stops, including a sprawling denial of Merritt Sullivan on a corner. D-S held a 16-6 advantage on corners for the game.

“Their defense was excellent, and we just weren’t able to put it in,” said Johnson. “You get a little nervous when you have that many corners and you are not scoring, because (Sandwich) is going to back around and come up the field, which is what they did. Even with that one goal you are not comfortable against Sandwich.”

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/33A08Ma