Zuri Smith settles the ball during Boothbay’s 5-0 win over Hall-Dale on Friday, Oct. 17 in Farmingdale. (Mic LeBel photo)
The Boothbay field hockey team shut out Hall-Dale 5-0 on Friday, Oct. 17 in Farmingdale. The lopsided win avenged the only loss of the season for the Seahawks, a 1-0 battle that took place Sept. 15.
With the win over the Bulldogs, Boothbay claimed the No. 1 seed in Class C South and earned a spot in the Mountain Valley Conference championship game on Friday, Oct. 24 in Winthrop.
After a scoreless first quarter, Moriah Smith tallied the first Seahawks goal with eight minutes left in the second quarter. Hall-Dale responded with a goal late in the second quarter, but it was disallowed due to an infraction.
Boothbay dominated the Bulldogs in all facets of the game during the second half. The Seahawks extended their advantage to 2-0 with a goal by Olivia Hardwick a little over a minute into the third quarter. Tatum French assisted on the goal.
The Seahawks continued to swarm on the offensive end and Hardwick tallied her second goal of the match with two minutes gone in the fourth quarter when she converted a pass from Zuri Smith. French scored five minutes later with five minutes remaining on the clock. Natalie Flagg scored Boothbay’s final goal with less than one minute remaining on an assist by Hardwick.
Boothbay goalie Jess Steinmetz made four saves. The Seahawks benefitted from three penalty corners while the Bulldogs had eight.
“They definitely did not see that coming,” said French, a senior midfielder “We’ve worked really hard and beaten some really good teams since that frustrating loss to Hall-Dale. We’re a young team, so we really wanted to show how much we’ve learned and grown as a team since that loss.”
French said the squad has been focused on challenging the opposing ball carriers to keep the ball out of dangerous areas in their defensive end.
“Specifically, our coach always tells us to have a dog mentality and to channel,” said French. “Channeling is a two-player style of defense where one defender confronts the player dribbling the ball and steers them toward our other defender who traps them on the other side when they try to get away.”
Boothbay head coach Jax Hepburn was proud of how her team embraced the challenge to play their very best against the only team that dealt them a loss this season. Since that game, the team made changes, held difficult conversations, and put a lot of thought and effort into getting better, the coach said.
“That first game against Hall Dale was our first good opponent, and we just were not ready and didn’t play our best,” said Hepburn. “We switched our lineup a little bit, and that’s worked out very well. Our defense and midfield play today were amazing, and that led to fast transitions and a lot of offensive scoring chances.”
The team has come a long way since October 2024, when Boothbay finished the season 5-9, to having a record of 11-1-2 and playing in the MVC championship one year later.
“We believe in our team and we’ve been taking it game-by-game,” said Hepburn. “We have a really young group, but they’ve matured and play with confidence. The coaches know, and the kids are realizing that they are a special group and are capable of a lot more.”
Here are some additional photos from the game:
