CELEBRATING THE GAME WINNER — Olivia Deschenes (#14) scored in overtime as Lake Region defeated Fryeburg Academy last Friday on the road. Celebrating the win (left to right) Rachel Bell, Molly Christensen and Spencer True. (Rivet Photo)

FIELD HOCKEY

Lakers 2, Freeport 1: Freshman Paige Davis scored in the first half from a pass from Rachel Bell with 45 seconds left in the first half, and Dessi Berry scored the winning goal, unassisted, with 2:29 left in the game as the Lakers edged the Falcons at home last Wednesday.

“I had just called a timeout to set up a play to get the ball in the circle and set us up for a shot on goal. I told the girls, ‘We are not playing OT, let’s take care of business right now!’…And they did!”

Keeper Maddie Nelson had 15 saves.

Alexa Koenig from Freeport scored the only goal for Freeport. Freeport keeper, Morgan Karnes had 12 saves.

Lakers 2, Fryeburg 1 OT: When Laker lightning struck with 3:29 left in the game last Friday as a rocket drive by Molly Christensen to the left side of the Fryeburg Academy goal was redirected into the top right corner by Olivia Deschenes, Coach Pauline Webb had to wonder just how much energy her club had left into the tank heading into overtime.

The odds seemed to favor the Raiders, who had substituted freely during regulation and seemingly had an overall experience advantage headed into 7-on-7 play.

But, Coach Webb had a good feeling about the Lakers’ chances.

“The girls played with perseverance and a ‘No Quit’ attitude. One of the captains had shared a quote about this earlier in the day and then another player shared the quote of the game, which also had the ‘never quit’ message. That’s just how the girls played,” Coach Webb said. “We had a few minutes that were rough and things definitely were not going our way, but they hung in there, worked together and pulled themselves out of it. Things started to turn around and we started getting more opportunities.”

Fryeburg dominated play early in the second half, nearly scoring one goal, which was waved off by officials who determined the shot originated outside of the scoring circle. FA kept the pressure on, but was turned away by some quick saves by LR goalie Maddie Nelson, who showed good composure under fire. As did the young Laker defense including Shayla Dunn, Kelsey Apovian and Hailey Parsons.

“I was so proud of how they got themselves out of that ‘not playing well’ period. I’ve talked about this at practice, when we do drills that should flow, but don’t, I tell them to keep working through it, figure it out. They put that into practice today,” Coach Webb said.

Overtime was pure Laker determination.

“I did not sub any of these girls during regulation time. It was time to dig deep and see how tough we really are,” the coach said. “After subbing a couple times in the OT period, we got a very well placed ball by Molly Christensen to Spencer True on the left side of the field. Spencer carried it at an angle toward the goal from just beyond the 50, to the top of the circle where her teammate Liz Cole was running to. Spencer timed a perfect pass to Liz, who attacked the goal but was tripped up by a FA player and earned us a penalty corner.”

Deschenes started the penalty corner chance by inbounding the ball from the end line to Christensen, who unloaded a beautiful hard drive on goal. The shot hit the left post, bounced back to Deschenes, who finished it off for a dramatic Laker victory.

LR goalie Maddie Nelson had 10 saves.

Up next: The Lakers hosted Gray-New Gloucester yesterday, Sept. 30, and will travel to Poland on Friday for a 3:30 p.m. game against the Knights. LR closes out the regular season with a home game against Sacopee Valley on Tuesday and Friday at Waynflete (at Catherine McAuley High School), both games at 4 p.m.

PRESSURE ON THE GOALIE — Lake Region's Maddie Simms looks for a rebound against Waynflete. (Rivet Photo)

GIRLS’ SOCCER

Waynflete 2, Lakers 1: A very good Waynflete team opened up the scoring 12 minutes into the contest at Art Kilborn Athletic Complex last Wednesday night by breaking through the Laker defense and cooly putting the ball into the side netting.

LR buckled down and organized themselves defensively the rest of the way limiting Waynflete’s scoring chances. The back line of Danica Chadwick, Katie Throgmorton, Neva Leavitt and Devynn Turner played well, according to LR Coach Peter Webb.

Lake Region was solid maintaining possession and creating many scoring chances throughout the contest.

The Lakers tied the game just before the half with a shot from the top of the 18 from Lauren Jakobs for her first goal of the season. Jakobs broke open along the right side and drilled a well-placed ball to beat the Flyer netminder’s diving attempt toward the far post.

Waynflete scored the game winner with 20 minutes left in the game from a low, hard shot from the side of the 18-yard box.

WELL PLACED DRIVE — Lauren Jakobs found some open operating room along the right wing and ripped a shot past Waynflete's goalie. (Rivet Photo)

Lake Region had 18 shots on goal, including a late drive by leading scorer Kristen Huntress, which sailed just over the crossbar. The Lakers hit the post a couple of times during the game. Wayneflete recorded 10 shots. LR goalie Chandler True played well in goal and had 6 saves on 10 shots.

Melody Millett and Lauren Jakobs dominated midfield play creating many scoring chances for Huntress and Madi Simms up front. Aisley Sturk and Kaylyn Jordan gave very positive minutes from the outside midfield.

“As we find ourselves halfway through the season at this point, I really feel we are coming together as a team. We need to play consistently solid defense and continue to create many scoring chances like we did against a very good Waynflete team,” Coach Webb said. “Our mids and forwards are really starting to combine well with each other and are really fun to watch. If we do that, we will find ourselves on the winning end of many games the rest of the way.”

Up next: The Lakers host Cape Elizabeth tonight, Oct. 1, at 6 p.m. and Poland on Saturday at 3 p.m. LR travels to Fryeburg Academy on Tuesday for a 3:30 p.m. game and hosts NYA next Thursday, Oct. 8 at 6 p.m.

GOLF

With two wins over Poland and Gray-NG, the Lakers improved to 8-1.

Tyler Walker continues leading the team in scoring and gamesmanship. He has been elected captain by his peers, and his current average stays consistently at two over par.

“He has the respect and admiration of his teammates and coach for his work ethic,” Coach Art Kilborn said.

Ryan Walker is in the second position and has been a tough competitor. Ryan Hodgdon and Nick Scarlett have been consistently in the middle slots for competition, with both having improved their golf play and competitive skills. The last two positions have seen several players filling in. Notably, sophomores Bobby Caron and Ben Johnson and seniors Nate Smith and Damon Knight filling in admirably.

“The team’s strength is the willingness to work on their game as a group by helping each other out as they practice,” Coach Kilborn said.

Against Poland (2-7), Tyler Walker shot a match best 38 to win by six strokes and lead the Lakers over the Knights, 4 ½ to 1 ½.

In other matches, Ryan Walker shot a 45 to win by 19 strokes, Ryan Hodgdon squeaked out a one-stroke victory with a 53 and Nick Scarlett was 15 strokes up on his opponent. Bobby Caron tied his opponent with a 53, while Ben Johnson was a stroke off the pace at 66.

CROSS COUNTRY

When you have a young squad, you don’t worry about the final score, you look for improvement.

Coach Dan Dors saw that improvement during last Friday’s Homecoming race. Audrey Blais, who is still battling injury, finished fifth, while Addie Blais posted her best time of the season, chipping 1 minute, 10 seconds off her time. On the boys’ side, Nick Scarlett had his best race to date, cutting 2 minutes off his top time.

“They are all working very hard, and it is paying off,” Coach Dors said. “We are seeing improvement, that’s all I can ask for.”

5. Audrey Blais 19:33
6. Addie Blais 20:45
7. Olivia Toole 21:34
8. Kennedy Brake 22:39
9. Emily Colson 22:51
10. Hae won Kim 26:46

• Winning time was 18:42 over the 2.97-mile course by Fiona Ahearne of Maine Coast Waldorf.

Final results: Kennebunk 36, Maine Coast 51, Gray-NG 57, Lake Region 77.

9. Nick Scarlett 17:56
10. Cameron Meserve 18:52
11. Tim Holbrook 19:12
12. Devyn Hatch 19:26
13. Andrew Gianatassio 20:49
14. Brandon Ross 27:42
15. Alex Creaser 29:01

• Winning time was 15:04 by Tucker Pierce of Maine Coast Waldorf.

Final results: Maine Coast 32, Gray-NG 43, Kennebunk 52, Lake Region 89.

Up next: The Lakers travel to Belfast this Saturday for an Invitational meet.