RallyNorth.net

Thu, Oct 28, 2010 05:00 PM @ Pinkerton

Team	1st	2nd	Final
Salem	1	1	2
Pinkerton	2	2	4

Reid, Pinkerton whip Salem in semis

EXETER — Pinkerton senior Michelle Reid picked the perfect time to score her first ever varsity goal.

Reid slammed a shot past Salem goalie Allison Breton with 8:06 left in the Division 1 semifinal game. The No. 2 Astros held on for a 4-2 victory last night over the No. 3 Blue Devils, earning their third consecutive trip to the finals.

The Division 1 championship will be played Sunday at 2:30 p.m. at Bedford High between Pinkerton and No. 1 Winnacunnet, which won its semifinal contest 3-0 over No. 5 Timberlane yesterday.  

Reid, who is playing her first year on the varsity, has been a scorer at times as she netted 19 goals during her eighth-grade season.

“It was wicked exciting,” Reid said. “The adrenaline was rushing. And it was important there to get a bigger lead. One of the Salem girls tipped it and I was in the right place at the right time and I slammed it in.”

Reid also assisted on the first Pinkerton goal.

“Boy, was she big for us tonight,” Pinkerton coach Denise Rioux said. “She struggled earlier in the season with injuries (ankle) so her conditioning wasn’t there. She gave us quality minutes but not a lot of quantity minutes. As the season has gone on, she’s really come on. What a great player she has been for us the last few games.

“The left side of the field is hard to play on because the stick, you have to turn it around. You can’t use the wrong side of the stick. But she’s an excellent athlete. She’s a basketball player. She has vision. She makes calm plays — composed under pressure.”

Salem finished its season with a 13-3 record, which included a 3-0 midseason loss to the Astros.

“I thought we played well,” Salem coach John Gatsas said. “They capitalized on corners and they kept the pressure on us. We had some opportunities. We just didn’t capitalize. I’m very proud of this team. We’ve got a lot of young freshmen.”

Senior Brittany Hawkins scored the second and third Pinkerton goals. The senior recently moved from left-wing to center-forward because starting center-forward Canada Stewart is out with a concussion.

Hawkins certainly is adjusting well to her new position. She has scored four goals in the past two games.

“I like it a lot better because it’s a lot easier to see the whole field and be more involved in the play,” Hawkins said.

Junior forward Jordyn Hamilton added about Hawkins: “She was playing either wing and now she’s playing more center, which I think is helping us a lot because she’s really smart about cutting back to the balls. So that opens space from the midfield up to her, which creates tons of offensive opportunities.”

Hamilton, meanwhile, scored the first Astro goal to tie the game 1-1. She added three assists.  

Hamilton can’t wait for the final Sunday.  

“Third time is a charm,” she said. “But Winnacunnet is going to be a tough battle. We played them first game of the season and we tied them 1-1. Overall, they have a really strong midfield, forward and defense — and goalie as well.”

The Pinkerton defense played well, allowing Salem only two shots on goal, goals by Melissa Higgins and Sara Bracken.

“We played a possession hockey game and used our transition skills to get the ball up the field,” defender Nicole Pacheco said. “Last couple of times, leaving in second place was definitely frustrating. Going back the third time, we’re 10 times more hungry just to take it all.”

Pinkerton players wore wrist bands with a heart on them and Stewart’s initials and No. 13. Stewart was hit in the head with a ball during the quarterfinals and was transported to the hospital in an ambulance. She will miss the rest of the year.

Timberlane can’t repeat

Defending champion Timberlane lost 3-0 to No. 1 Winnacunnet.

“I think we did a good job just in getting here,” Owls coach Mim Ryan said. “We just didn’t match their effort level tonight. They were definitely the better team tonight. The better team won. They were quicker to the ball. They made the most of their offensive opportunities. We had limited opportunities and pretty much all of their players were unmarked in front of the goal. Kati (Orban) kept us in it. She had quite a number of saves.”

The Boston College recruit made 10 saves.

“She has been the backbone because we needed a solid goalie because of the number of people we lost through graduation last year (nine players),” Ryan said. “She was the key. As she goes, we go.”

Pinkerton 4, Salem 2

Division 1 Semifinals

Goals: P — Brittany Hawkins 2, Jordyn Hamilton, Michelle Reid; S — Melissa Higgins, Sara Bracken

Assists: P — Hamilton 3, Reid

Saves: P — Gina Rosinski 0; S — Allison Breton 3

Salem (13-3):    1 1 — 2

Pinkerton (14-1-1):    2 2 — 4

Winnacunnet 3, Timberlane 0

Division 1 Semifinals

Saves: T — Kati Orban 10; W — Haley Morancy 2

Winnacunnet (15-0-1):    2 1 — 3

Timberlane (11-6):    0 0 — 0