What began as a school assignment has turned into so much more for Oak Hill senior captain Ashley Ward.

Faced with choosing a senior research project, Ward was searching for inspiration. She found it, ironically enough, while sifting through a company’s Web page for new field hockey equipment.

“One day, I was on the Longstreth site looking at field hockey equipment, and I saw the ‘Play 4 The Cure’ link,” Ward said. “I went to the link and instantly thought it would be the perfect idea for my project. I decided my research topic would be on the costs and benefits of different types of breast cancer treatment.”

According to the organization’s Web site, Play 4 The Cure was started by Mystx Field Hockey Club founder, director, and head coach Tina Reinprecht, whose goal was to create an indoor field hockey benefit tournament for breast cancer research.

The group held the first event in 2006.

Ward, with help from her friends and teammates, is bringing the movement to Oak Hill.

“Being the captain, I thought participating in Play 4 The Cure and supporting a group of women who just want a cure would be a good thing for my team to do,” Ward said. “I began talking to my teammate, Kaitlyn Pelletier, and now here we are raising money and awareness to fight breast cancer.”

Oak Hill hosts Morse for the Raiders’ Play 4 The Cure event at the Carrie Ricker School in Litchfield on Thursday at 3:30 p.m.

“We made pink tie-dye shirts to wear to school (Thursday) and we have pink ribbons that we will be wearing in our hair and we’ll be playing with a pink ball during the game,” Ward said.

In addition, the team has also begun selling bracelets, and there will be T-shirts available at the team’s snack table and also pledge cards for people who wish to make donations to the cause.

“Every little bit that is donated will help,” Ward said.

That Ward took the project on at all is no surprise to the team’s coach, Brittany Chadbourne.

“That’s Ashley,” Chadbourne said, “and I think it’s awesome that she wants to do something like this to help such a great cause, and we’re all behind her. Hopefully we can pull it all off.”

At 1-9-1, Oak Hill will likely miss the playoffs this season, even with a victory over winless Morse on Thursday. But events like Thursday’s reassure Chadbourne that the team’s spirit and drive remains in the proper place.

“We’re a young team,” Chadbourne said. “I have nine freshmen, and seven of them start. They understand that, and they’re doing OK with it. They know if we put the work in, we’ll get there. Definitely having things like this to do keeps them going.”

Home stretch

Less than a week remains in the regular season for area field hockey teams, and while some already know their fate, many are clamoring for seeding, or even to grab a playoff position.

In Eastern Class A, Oxford Hills and Edward Little are currently battling it out at Nos. 6 and 7 in the standings, with Lewiston just outside the playoff picture in ninth position. The Vikings and Blue Devils square off Thursday in a pivotal matchup for Lewiston’s playoff hopes, with the Eddies and Vikings seeing each other on Friday.

Oxford Hills is fresh off a 2-0 victory over Brunswick, and has No. 5 Cony on the horizon, as well. EL is coming off of a tough stretch of games against three of the top five teams in the conference, while Lewiston is looking for its first win since Sept. 17.

Mt. Blue’s fate in Eastern B’s playoff push likely hangs on the Cougars’ ability to earn at least a tie with No. 2 and unbeaten Nokomis.

In Western B, A host of area teams are jostling for position, including unbeaten Spruce Mountain, which has a rematch with Mountain Valley on Friday in addition to three other games to play. The Phoenix are currently holding onto the No. 2 position in Western B.

Leavitt and Mountain Valley, meanwhile, are in fifth and sixth, respectively. The Hornets could drastically improve their chances for a home game in the quarterfinals with a win or two against Winslow and Gardiner, their next two opponents.

The Falcons have their showdown with the Phoenix on tap, as well as a rivalry game against Dirigo.

In Western C, Winthrop has moved its way into second position behind unbeaten Dexter, and with wins in their final three games, the Ramblers will likely hold onto that position.

The Western C pack looks decidedly different than usual, though. Lisbon is the top MVC team in Class C this season, and appears likely to fall short of finding a top-two ranking given the strength of schedule of the teams ahead — Sacopee Valley and NYA of the Western Maine Conference. The Greyhounds have only two games remaining on their schedule.

Telstar is in a battle for the Nos. 6 and 7 positions with Waynflete, and a pair of wins among the team’s final three of the season would solidify at least the No. 7 seed.

And St. Dom’s, despite being winless to date and still without a goal scored on the season, are in a battle for the No. 8 seed in the quarterfinals thanks to an early-season 0-0 tie. The Saints have a pair of games remaining, as well.

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