LIVERMORE FALLS – The safest bet of the Mountain Valley Conference field hockey season was that Telstar wouldn’t lose to Livermore Falls by six goals again.

But win outright? On the road? Hey, let’s not get greedy, you rambunctious Rebels.

Or let’s. Telstar surprised the previously unbeaten home team but shocked nobody Friday by avenging its only previous loss in style, 2-0.

“For our team spirits it was important for us to know we could come out even after losing 6-0 and still play as a team,” said Telstar‘s Jamie Steven. “This game is probably one of our most important games so far of our season, and we knew that.”

Both teams are now 8-1, but Telstar — beaten soundly the second week of the season — played like the team with something to prove.

Steven set up both goals.

Kallie Brown claimed the first with a redirection off a penalty corner in the final five minutes of the first half. Katie Sumner cashed in the second when the Rebels quickly reversed direction after fighting off three Livermore Falls corners.

“We pushed ourselves,” said Sumner. “We were tired, and we still pushed ourselves.”

Sumner earned the right to be exhausted. Her aggressive work at center forward frequently swiped the ball away from Livermore Falls in the midfield on behalf of the Rebels’ defense, which was stellar in its own right.

Strong hits by Kayla Merrill, Emma Davis and Lyndsay Merrill cleared the ball out of harm’s way multiple times in the second half.

Freshman goalie Hali Barter made seven saves and was the centerpiece of a Rebels’ defense that fought off seven corners in the second half, alone.

“We’ve been waiting,” Telstar coach Gail Wight said of the rematch. “We’ve been trying to fix it, moving players around.”

One of those switches was to put Sumner at center forward, typically the spotlight position on offense.

Sumner started the first Livermore Falls game and every other previous contest at wing. Wight had been moving her to the middle during each game as a situational substitute with prolific results.

“Today was the first day I changed the starting lineup,” Wight said. “I’ve been watching, because when I changed it during a game and we’d score, I’d be like, ‘OK, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure this out.’ I’ve been waiting for the right game to put her there to start, and this was going to be the game.”

Telstar’s other change of strategy was to tell its forwards “back and cover,” or lend defensive help.

Getting the goal by Brown late in the first half played into the Rebels’ hands, giving them the luxury of sending more bodies to Livermore Falls’ offensive zone and stifling the Andies’ inevitable second-half flurry.

“We were definitely busting our butts to get behind our defense again and again. Our motto is defense first, offense second,” Steven said. “We’ve got a different team out there this time. Our main goal is a touch and a pass. We’ve learned that’s what works best for us to move the ball down the field.”

Sumner scored Telstar’s insurance goal in that fashion with 11:42 remaining. The Rebels moved the ball quickly up the turf off a free hit just after Livermore Falls clanged the post in pursuit of the potential equalizer.

That play unfolded as Wight tried to get a stoppage in play that she’d promised her team at halftime.

“I told them I’d call a timeout at 15 minutes so they could get a breather and relax. They played even harder after that,” Wight said. “They didn’t let up. We talked about protecting the lead and keeping that zero there.”

Hunter Verrill and Sumner each stepped in to short-circuit a Livermore Falls breakaway in the closing minutes, mostly keeping Andies attackers Kathryn Ventrella, Annika Durrell and Samantha Greenwood away from Barter.

“We were all concerned about this game. We knew it was going to be a tough game,” Livermore Falls coach Julia Parker. “Telstar always gets better as they progress into the season. I have strong girls, and I’d rather take a loss now than in playoffs. It’s a good reality check.”

Caylee Morris made 12 saves for the Andies, who entered the game having outscored their opponents 46-2.

“We’ve scored a lot, but we’ve worked hard,“ Parker said. “I don’t want to take anything away from my team. They played hard right to the end. The last 10 minutes they poured it on strong.”

koakes@sunjournal.com

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