Hornets top Tigers in semis
thanks to Flint hat trick
ASHLAND, Maine — Savannah Flint has been a tough player to stop for a lot of opponents, and the Fort Fairfield Tigers certainly fall into that category.
Flint, who is the all-time leading goal scorer at Ashland, netted all three in Saturday’s 3-1 victory over the Tigers in the Class D North semifinals. The No. 1 and 16-0 Hornets will now meet No. 3 Madawaska (13-2-1) in the championship to be played today at 4 p.m. in Ashland.
In three meetings this season against Fort Fairfield, Flint has a total of seven goals. She also netted a pair in a 3-2 victory in Fort Fairfield Sept. 15 and two more in a 6-0 triumph in Ashland played Oct. 9.
In a day that was a frustrating one for the Hornets’ Mackenzie Carter, the team’s other top offensive threat who was held scoreless, Flint came up big once again.
“She’s so quick and everyone thinks Mackenzie is our go-to player, and she can be because she’s that talented, but we have other weapons,” said Ashland coach Peter Belskis. “She has some game and is not the record holder in goals at the school for nothing.”
Flint knocked in the first one just 3:23 into the match off an assist by senior center midfielder Caitlin Paradis, who crossed it from the right to a wide open Flint, who shot it inside the right post from 10 yards away.
“A key was getting that early goal and getting [Fort Fairfield] on their heels,” Belskis said.
The Hornets made it 2-0 with 8:18 to play in the first half when Flint took another beautifully-executed cross, this time courtesy of sophomore wing Morgan Doughty, and ran onto it just in front of the goal line.
The Paradis-to-Flint combination struck again nearly nine minutes into the second half. Flint trapped a Paradis pass 20 yards from the goal and blasted a left-footed shot to the upper-right corner that FF goalkeeper Sarah Watt didn’t have a chance to save.
Fort Fairfield was only able to generate four shots the entire game and converted on the final one as Chelsey Pelkey scored on a breakaway off a Taylor Churchill assist with 10:42 remaining, beating Ashland goalkeeper Megan Cote with a hard low shot to the right.
Through the first 16 games, Ashland has allowed just six goals and three have been scored by the Tigers.
“They have a strong offense, a good offense and a talented nucleus of seniors,” said Belskis regarding the Tigers, who won all 14 of their other games this season. “I knew it was going to be a tough match.”
Belskis praised Paradis for the brilliant job she did controlling the middle of the field throughout. That led to a 24-4 advantage in shots on goal. Ashland also took 12 corner kicks, compared to just two for the Tigers.
Fort Fairfield second-year coach Tom Towle said he was proud of the way his kids battled throughout against an excellent Hornet squad.
“Everybody who follows Class D soccer knew if you were going to advance, you’d have to get by Ashland,” he said. “You really have to catch a break or two against them to have a chance and unfortunately it didn’t come for us early in the game. We were hoping to get an early goal against them but their defense marked us strong.”
Towle has plenty of respect for the Hornets and feels they will be a tough out the rest of the way.
“Sometime as a coach, you look to attack weak spots and Ashland has none,” he said. “They play the way the game is supposed to be played.”
