By Bob McPhee,Staff Writer

BETHEL – The Livermore Falls field hockey team eclipsed a giant hurdle by utilizing a total team effort Wednesday afternoon.

The Andies took advantage of superior physical conditioning in the hot weather and rode three second-half goals to shock Telstar 3-0 in a Mountain Valley Conference game.

Taryn Flagg scored eight minutes, 27 seconds into the second half, to break the scoreless tie.

Erica Gats added two goals to raise her total to five in two games. Goalie Sam Whiting made seven saves to post the shutout and benefited from the strong play of defenders Jenika Kelley and Baylee Grant.

“Overall, this was a total team effort,” Flagg said. “We knew entering the game that we really needed to communicate well together and outhustle them. The fact that we remained positive really helped us.”

Livermore Falls (2-0) shifted the momentum and the offensive pressure eventually paid off. A series of penalty corners was called, and Flagg redirected a ball past Rebel goalie Heather Gionet.

The game was a rematch of last year’s Western regional championship, which Telstar won 3-1 and then cruised in the state championship game. Both teams had posted shutouts in their 2005 season openers.

“We had worked on our penalty corners,” Livermore Falls coach Julia Parker said, referring to the Andies 8-0 advantage. “Last year, we hadn’t scored off corners. So, when we did today, it really lifted the girls.”

Telstar (1-1) simply wasn’t able to mount a consistent attack as the Andies were successful at preventing the Rebels from passing diagonally. Right wing Kayla Mills posed the biggest threat, after having corralled a rebound and shot toward the middle of the cage. However, Grant shifted over to clear the ball out of the zone.

“Beating Telstar was one of our goals,” Parker said. “Especially on their home field. We want to earn home-field advantage in the playoffs.”

The Rebel defense was led by sweeper Jillian Kimball and halfback Liz Rosenberg, but Livermore Falls countered with solid checking by Helania Lake and sophomore Whitney McDaniel.

Gats put a nail in the coffin by scoring off a Lake assist with 7:44 remaining in the game. Gats later added an unassisted goal.