By Justin Pelletier,Staff Writer

TURNER – The number is 23 and counting, but the girls on the Belfast Lions’ field hockey team will never acknowledge it.

Junior Jillian Ross had a goal and two assists, and Jamie Flagg and Stephanie Whittier added a goal apiece to lead the Lions to a 3-0 win over Leavitt in KVAC field hockey Thursday.

The win was the program’s 23rd consecutive win, which included a perfect season and a Class B state crown last year.

“We don’t talk about it at all,” said Belfast coach Allen Holmes. “We’re not even counting. Last year was last year. It’s a new year. Five is a good number. I like five.”

Five is the number of wins Belfast now has this season at 5-0. Five was also the number for which Leavitt was pining prior to this game. The Hornets (4-1) won just five games all of last year.

“We just got tired out there,” said Leavitt coach Wanda Ward-MacLean. “In the first half, we were fresh and we didn’t lose our marks.”

Though the Lions dominated the first half in shots on goal (6-1), penalty corners (3-1) and offensive zone possession time, the Leavitt defense did well to keep the defending champs off the board.

“I thought we controlled the ball well,” said Holmes. “(The Hornets) were a lot faster than I thought they were going to be. I was really impressed with their speed.”

That speed, and some heads-up play from goaltender Kristin Schrepper kept the Lions at bay. The Leavitt offense, meanwhile, made a few trips into the Belfast end, but many of the shots it did manage went wide of the cage, and the transfers from the defenders through the midfield to the forwards were often long drives that overshot their intended targets.

“I think there was a little adrenaline there,” said Ward-MacLean. “We have a couple of kids that can really hit the ball hard and it’s OK to do that occasionally if you’ve been on defense a while and need a break, but it’s not typical to just smack it down there like that.”

In the second half, Belfast took the lead just 44 seconds in when Ross pounded a backstroke past Leavitt’s second netminder of the day, Jessica Vickerson. Ross assisted on each of the next two goals, which came 10 minutes later and just two minutes apart.

“Heather Read had a great game today ate center, and that allowed the midfielders to roam a bit more,” said Holmes. “That was important with their speed.”

Britt Cummings, who also had an assist Thursday, had a solid day on the right wing, starting several plays from the right alley, including two of the three plays that resulted in goals. The other, the Lions’ first goal, came on one of their seven penalty corners.