AUBURN – The ability to strike quickly has become a trademark for the St. Dominics field hockey team.

Coach Brian Kay was pleased to see it appear during the first half of the Western Class C semifinals Saturday afternoon.

Senior Erica Dorso scored a hat trick and set a state record for goals in a season as the Saints advanced to their third straight appearance in the regional final by holding off a very determined Telstar squad in the second half for a 3-2 win.

No. 1 Saint Dom’s (16-0) will host Jay in the regional final Wednesday.

“We certainly had our chances,” Telstar coach Gail Wight said. “This one is tough to take because we were in front of the cage so many times, but only scored one goal in the second half. But, I’ve never had a team come back and try so hard as this one did. When we fell behind by three goals, they could have easily just hung their heads.”

The eventual game-winning goal resulted from a classic rush by sisters Erica and Elisha Dorso. The ball was advanced down the left side and Elisha was able to get past Rebel sweeper Ashley Stambolis. Erica cut toward the middle of the field and never broke stride to score on Telstar goalie Heather Gionet.

“This was a test,” Erica Dorso said. “We’ve been successful because of team bonding, because we’re all close and do everything together. It was certainly needed today.”

Erica Dorso now has 36 goals. The previous mark of 35 goals was held by former Dexter standout Kristy Veazie. Veazie currently plays at the University of Maine at Farmington.

No. 4 Telstar (10-6) received a momentum builder when Mallory Brown scored with 1:58 left in the first half. Krystal Gould had passed the ball to Brown on the left post.

The Saints had shocked the large crowd by scoring twice in a span of 74 seconds. Erica Dorso received passes in the crease from Elisha Dorso and Catlin Rutt.

“We really wanted it more today,” Rutt said. “We wanted to go on, but this was our toughest game of the year. A team hasn’t been able to come back on us like Telstar did. It was a very intense game.”

The Rebels proceeded to keep their sticks on the ground and controlled the second half. Gould finally scored on a perfect pass from Megan Bailey with 7:04 left in the game. Telstar maintained the pressure, but Saints goalie Ilissa Vallee made a kick save on Kayla Mills shot with nine seconds left in the game.

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