AUBURN – Given the vast expanse of green between the two goals and the rounded stick used to take aim at those cages, field hockey doesn’t lend itself to the kind of goals Elisha Dorso frequently scores for St. Dom’s.
Dorso’s highlight-film fodder is the equivalent of a slam dunk. Somebody sets her up with a worm-burning pass and she’s gone, behind the defense and in a dead sprint with the ball in complete control more quickly than the goaltender can mutter words of frustration under her breath.
The explosive senior punctuated two such end-to-end runs in the first half Monday, enabling St. Dom’s to cruise home to a 3-1 Western Maine Conference victory over Freeport.
St. Dom’s (8-2) summoned all its offense in a 21-minute span of the first half. Dorso also assisted the Saints’ first goal, a blistering shot by Katie Landry off a penalty corner.
“Our last game with them at the beginning of the season, we only won 1-0,” said Dorso. “They’re a Class B team, so this shows how much we’re starting to step it up.”
Dorso dropped the accelerator and sped to her first goal with just over 12 minutes remaining in the half after midfielder Kristen Ruby helped the St. Dom’s defense reverse direction.
Her transition pass to Dorso hit the four-year starter in mid-stride.
“We feel we’ve got some pretty good speed up front, particularly with Elisha and Mary Lewis, who’s only a freshman,” said St. Dom’s coach Brian Kay.
As the season progresses, the Saints are learning to harness that speed. They lunged out to a 2-0 lead against Class C rival Sacopee Valley before tiring and surrendering three second-half goals.
“That’s the best thing that ever could have happened to us,” Kay said.
Dorso agreed, noting that the team has changed its approach to conditioning since the Sacopee Valley defeat and a subsequent double-overtime loss to Greely.
“We’ve been running a lot at practice,” Dorso said. “We know the playoffs are coming up, and we need to be in better shape for that.”
Freeport (8-3) got a defender close enough to stand in Dorso’s way prior to her second strike, but Dorso kept her balance, avoided the collision and rifled a shot to the lower left corner of the cage.
Kayla McKay assisted that goal. Michela Fyler also picked up a second assist on Landry’s score.
Freeport’s Christie Dryer broke up the shutout with 58 seconds left in the game. Freshman goalie Austyn Carolin made four saves for the Saints.
The win represented the first of four games in a five-day stretch for St. Dom’s.
“Our seniors are doing a great job preparing our freshmen for what’s coming up,” Kay said. “We know we should be in the top four for the (Western Class C) playoffs. Games like this one and the one against Greely can only help us.”
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