Foxcroft Academy field hockey got the offensive pressure going early against Spruce Mountain High School of Jay in the 2025 Class C championship during the middle of the day on Saturday, Nov. 8 at Lewiston High School’s Don Roux Field.
The Ponies did not get the ball in the cage right away but the goals soon came with one in the second and third quarters and two more in the fourth as Foxcroft concluded a perfect 18-0 season with a 4-1 championship game victory. The gold ball is the fifth in program history in six final game berths, joining the 1991, 2007, 2013 and 2019 Class C titles (extending a run of state championships every half dozen years in the 21st century). A 2010 defeat is the lone blemish among the six appearances.
“They are a team that never gives up,” Foxcroft head coach Davan Walker said. “They have done that all season long and they battle, they push and it paid off.”
A 2000 Foxcroft Academy graduate now in her fourth season leading her alma mater, Walker became the third Pony field hockey head coach to win a state championship as she joins Gene Philpot and Stephanie Smith who both guided a pair of teams to the gold ball (1991 and 2007 and 2013 and 2019 respectively).
After having four penalty corners in both the first and second quarters, while yielding just three to Spruce Mountain, Foxcroft got on the scoreboard late in the first half. Junior Jenna Hartford got control of a loose ball from the right near the Phoenix cage and she sent a shot in for the 1-0 advantage at the 1:21-mark.
“Jenna never gives up, she has a quick shot and it paid off for her,” Walker said.
Foxcroft ended the day with an 11-7 corner advantage and two in the second half each led to goals.
Early in the third quarter freshman Addie Rayfield inserted the ball from the left to junior Jadenne Frigon. Frigon passed to senior co-captain Jaiyde True whose hard shot went in for a 2-1 lead.
The same play worked to perfection again early in the fourth quarter as True’s second goal put Foxcroft ahead 3-0 on a Frigon assist following Rayfield’s insertion.
“She’s done that a couple times this season,” Walker said about the True goals. “We picked up that they weren’t covering her on that right side, so we flipped it to her twice and she knocked it in.”
True and co-captain Emma McGary were the only seniors on the roster.
“We came out with intensity and we tried to keep that up the whole game, keep pressure on them,” True said. “We really connect well on the field, especially in games like these that are really important. The shots went in and it worked out really well for us.”
Spruce Mountain — the South third-seeded Phoenix end 2025 with a record of 13-4-1 after having a 5-game winning streak and 6-0-1 run snapped — would get on the scoreboard with 4:44 to play on a goal by senior Adelle Pease.
The comeback bid was thwarted just over a minute later with the fourth and final goal for Foxcroft. Rayfield sent the ball from the left toward the goal and sophomore Kendall Killam was there to knock it in with 3:35 remaining on the clock.
Sophomore Lili Bisson made one save for the Ponies, blocking a shot in the first quarter to keep the game scoreless. At the other end of the field Spruce Mountain junior Kyleigh Marcotte stopped four shots, with three of her saves coming in the first half.
“It feels good to bring it on back to the community who supported us, the school, the student body,” Walker said. “We are proud to bring it back.”
True called it a “really good season” for the undefeated Ponies.
“We just kept pushing, kept connecting, kept up our intensity and kept up our conditioning and it really flowed well for us,” she said.
The senior thinks the program will continue to be strong moving forward, with nine starters set to return in 2026.
“I think they can go all the way the next couple of years if they want it,” True said.
Walker doesn’t anticipate another 6-year drought between state championships.
“No, we’re going to do it again next year,” the coach said.
At 18-0, Foxcroft joins Class B champion Belfast Area High School as the only field hockey teams across all three classes to win every game this season. Class A champion Cheverus High School of Portland ended at 17-0-1.
On its way to the state championship, Spruce Mountain eliminated 4-time Class C champion Winthrop High School in the South final. Winthrop and Foxcroft have combined to win the last six Class C crowns — there was no championship in 2020.
Spruce Mountain was making its second appearance in a Class C championship, falling in the 2018 game. The school formed nearly a decade and a half ago with the merger of Jay and Livermore Falls secondary institutions, after Foxcroft began its every six year title run.
Pony team members are seniors Emma McGary and Jaiyde True; juniors Kamryn Coelho, Jadenne Frigon, Payson Hall, Jenna Hartford, Madi Sands, Julia Smith; sophomores Lili Bisson, Harloe Boulier, Lola Calvo, Ava Dunton, Ella Hutchinson, Kendall Killam, Ana Martos, Ava Turner; freshmen Ella Annis, Luci Bisson, Lauren Caruso, Maddie Coffill, Emma Crossman, Addie Rayfield, Lexi Richardson; freshman manager Makynlee Sands; coaches Taylor Dow, Ava Rayfield and Kilee Salley and head coach Davan Walker.
