TURNER – Kylie Vincent wasn’t quite sure what to do.

She knew the ball she’d hit had made the trip through the jungle of legs between her and the goal cage – she’d heard the thump of the ball striking the board behind Maranacook keeper Darcy Wilkins.

“I didn’t know if it was me, or if had hit someone else,” Vincent said. “I was confused.”

For the record, Vincent’s goal – and it was her goal – is her first since the middle of the 2007 season. It was also an unlikely turning point in a back-and-forth battle between two of the top field hockey programs in the KVAC.

Vincent and Courtney Erskine scored in the first half and MyKayla McCann rattled the cage early in the second with the winning goal to lift Leavitt to a 3-2 win over rival Maranacook in the Hornets’ final home contest of the regular season.

“It’s always nice to come back and beat a team that’s beat you before,” Leavitt coach Wanda Ward-McLean said. “Both teams were a bit tired because we both played (Monday), but I think we survived a little bit better than they did.”

With the win, the Hornets (10-1-1) avenged their only loss of the season, a 3-0 Black Bear win in the team’s third game of the season.

“We’d lost to them at regionals last year, too,” Vincent said. “We worked so hard for this game.”

The Black Bears (6-5-0) threatened to run away and hide again early Tuesday. Zoie Kaley converted a pass from Ally Kennedy 8:57 into the first half to put Maranacook on top 1-0.

“Our goal was to come out here and score early,” Maranacook coach Julie Schmidt said. “We did that. Overall, I thought we played well.”

This time, Leavitt responded quickly.

A drive from the right side of the circle with 19 minutes remaining in the half struck the foot of a Maranacook defender on its way toward the goal, and officials awarded the Hornets a penalty shot. Erskine made good on her attempt with a shot high into the left corner of the cage to even the score.

Vincent struck with her goal 3:25 later, putting Leavitt in front 2-1.

The Black Bears weren’t about to go away easily. Meghan Surette pounded home a rebound on a Kaley shot off of Leavitt keeper Kristen Capen’s pads to tie things up before the first half ended.

McCann tipped the ball in on a goalmouth scramble with 21:19 to play in the second half, and the Leavitt defense buckled down from there. Maranacook never attempted a penalty corner in the second half, and only a handful of times was able to penetrate Leavitt’s defensive circle.

“I think we got jammed a bit defensively,” Schmidt said. “We couldn’t penetrate down into the circle at all.”