Maine Sports Hall of Fame field hockey coach Paula Doughty said the Brewer High School field hockey team deserves to represent the North in the State Class A state championship game at Edward Little High School in Auburn.
Brewer ended Skowhegan’s reign as 22-year Class A North champion with a 3-0 victory over the River Hawks on Wednesday night at Cony High School in Augusta.
Brewer, 15-2, will now face defending state Cheverus of Portland, 17-0, at 1 p.m. in the state title game.
It is Brewer’s first ever appearance in a state game while Cheverus has won two of the last three state titles.
“Brewer is super, super athletic,” said Doughty. “They are highly skilled and Jamie (head coach Jamie Emerson) has done an amazing job teaching them how to understand the game. They play at a really high level.”
In Wednesday’s regional final, Jordin Williams scored what proved to be the game-winner in the second quarter and Paige Oakes added a pair of second-half goals to cement the win.
Oakes had scored the only goal in the 1-0 semifinal win over Messalonskee High of Oakland and she had also tallied the game-winner in the season-opening 3-2 victory over the River Hawks.
“She’s a clutch player. She just shows up when you need her the most,” said Emerson. “She has had almost all of our clutch goals. What I love about Paige is she is such a vocal leader and she’s a workhorse. And she is so coachable.
“All my kids are coachable and that’s why we are in the state championship game,” Emerson added.
She called Wednesday night’s performance “the best game we’ve played all year. They executed very well. I expected them to come out a little nervous. They’d never been on a stage like that before. But they settled in and they played their game. It was all mental for them.”
Brewer has now allowed only three goals in its last 10 games and junior goalkeeper Abbie Derosier is a big reason why.
“She is awesome,” said Doughty.
Emerson called Derosier “amazing” and also noted that “our defense is so solid and cohesive in front of the cage.”
The back line consists of juniors Delaney McDonough, Lydia Jordan, Sayde Persaud and senior Bella Pierce with another junior, Isabelle Long, also subbing in and getting minutes.
Senior Williams, junior Olivia Gilmore and sophomore Abbie Flagg patrol the midfield and the forwards are seniors Oakes and Allie Flagg and sophomore Syrina Zavala. Senior Lilly Goodwin also sees action up front.
Emerson led the Witches to their first winning season since 2014 last year when she guided them to a 10-3-1 season.
“When I started coaching here three years ago, I not only worked on skill and player development but on mindset and mentality, which is the piece I think was missing,” said Emerson. “Wanting to be (in a state final) and knowing you can be there but also putting in the work to be there, everyday at practice and during the offseason.”
“This has been our dream for three years and it all came together for us this year,” she added.
The Class B state final will kick off Saturday’s three-game day at 11 a.m. as Belfast seeks its first state title since 2011 against a Yarmouth team that hasn’t won a state title since it captured the Class C title in 1995.
Both teams are 16-1.
Breanna Shorey scored both goals in Belfast’s 2-0 win over Leavitt of Turner in their B North title game.
The 3 p.m. state C title game is a rematch of last year’s game won by Winthrop/Maranacook, 2-1, over Dexter/Central.
It was Winthrop/Maranacook’s third straight C state title and fourth in five years.
Dexter/Central advanced to the state final with a come-from-behind 2-1 win over rival Foxcroft Academy in the C North final as Preslee Dow answered Emma McGary’s third-quarter goal with a tying goal in the fourth quarter and then scored the game-winner in overtime.
Winthrop/Maranacook is 17-0 and Dexter is 16-1.
