BETHEL – Bailey Davis dutifully practices penalty strokes throughout Telstar Regional High School’s field hockey season for the same reason many of us buy lottery tickets: You never know.

Granted a rare opportunity to apply those lessons in a meaningful context, Davis’ number came up Saturday afternoon. Her freebie with 5:05 remaining in the first half broke a brief deadlock – and St. Dom’s only semblance of momentum – in the No. 1 Rebels’ 5-1 Western Class C semifinal domination of the No. 4 Saints.

“You just witnessed our first penalty stroke of the season,” said Telstar coach Gail Wight, whose Rebels carry a spotless 16-0 mark into Wednesday’s regional final against second-seeded North Yarmouth Academy. Telstar will vie for its third regional trophy in the last four years.

St. Dom’s (11-4) saw its own sectional title defense come to an abrupt end. The Saints took a physical pounding and were peppered with shots throughout to the tune of a stunning 26-3 disparity.

“There was no intensity. I don’t know if the Freeport (quarterfinal) game was when it peaked or whatever, but it just wasn’t the same team,” said St. Dom’s coach Brian Kay.

Nothing changed from the Rebels’ basic script all autumn long. Crisp passing, balanced scoring and smothering defense served Telstar nicely.

Josie Reiss was the only repeat offender for the Rebels. In addition to her two goals, Reiss’ pressure on the cage also led to Davis’ stroke by forcing St. Dom’s goalkeeper Austyn Carolin to illegally freeze the ball.

“We practice those every day,” Davis said. “I just stayed calm and did what I do. (Carolin) was positioned a little to my right, so I went for the left corner.”

Davis converted exactly 11 minutes after St. Dom’s knotted the score on its only shot of the first half, when Colleen Rideout hooked Hilary Gove’s free hit inside the left post.

Coupled with Chelsea Bean’s goal at 4:18 after a typical convergence of three hungry Rebel forwards in front of the cage, Davis’ go-ahead strike was the ultimate calming influence.

“I really believe the penalty stroke turned them up just like that,” Wight said. “Not only could it have ended up a 2-1 game, it made a huge difference with the way we were playing.”

Telstar piled it on after the break. Whitney Mills made it 3-1 with an unassisted effort at 5:48. The fourth and fifth goals came in a 39-second span. Reiss delivered both, Mills and Davis assisting.

Carolin made 21 saves and worked through 18 penalty corners for the Saints, who lost tri-captains Mary Lewis and Katie Landry for much of the second half. Lewis was injured in a collision at the goalmouth after one of the Saints’ rare offensive rushes and never returned, while Landry caught a wayward pass in the mouth and missed several minutes.

The short bench was a problem for St. Dom’s, but so was Telstar’s long and notoriously uneven field.

“I feel so much more at ease here,” Reiss said. “We have room for our passing. It gives us a lot of room to run.”

Kay thought prior to the playoffs that the Western Maine Conference might have an edge over the Mountain Valley Conference in this year’s tourney. Telstar’s play and its lock on home field has changed his tune, however.

“We’re used to the passing, the give-and-goes on a flat surface. The playing surface is so big, and they’re used to this,” Kay said. “It’ll be tough for NYA to adjust to this from (artificial) turf.”