LISBON — Home field and revenge were on Lisbon’s side this time in its second MVC field hockey scrap of the season against Winthrop.

Well, a natural hat trick by Olivia Harrington didn’t hurt, either.

The senior’s three unanswered goals — particularly the second, with 21 seconds remaining in the first half, and the third, just past the three-minute mark after intermission — turned the showdown into a showcase.

Class C champion Lisbon won going away, 6-1, avenging a Sept. 26 loss in Winthrop and leaving both teams at 10-2-1 with one game left before the playoffs.

Lisbon and Winthrop met there a year ago, too, with the Greyhounds prevailing in the state final.

“Winthrop is a good team. They always have been,” said Lisbon junior Molly Nicholson, who added a second-half goal on a penalty stroke. “They’ve always been a rival, and this is the first time in three years I think that they’ve been to our field. We showed them it was our turf.”

It was their comfort zone and it was Harrington’s day from the get-go, beginning with her goal off a rebound only 3:07 into the game.

Nicholson rattled the initial shot off Winthrop goalie Alyssa Arsenault’s pads before Harrington capitalized.

“She is a spitfire. I’m very proud of her,” Lisbon coach Julie Wescott said of Harrington. “She’s my workhorse. She’s a scrapper. She has a lot of heart and it shows on the field.”

“I wouldn’t be able to do it without the other girls,” Harrington said. “It was a, ‘we wanted it, we were going to get it’ kind of attitude.”

All those elements were on display late in the half. Lisbon led the first meeting 1-0 before Winthrop rallied for two goals in the final 10 minutes, so the Greyhounds recognized the importance of padding the advantage before the horn.

Allie Bubar blocked a Winthrop shot and Bailey Cutler made a big hit to clear the defensive zone and give Lisbon’s offense a running start. Under the ensuing pressure, the Ramblers’ attempt to knock the ball out of harm’s way sailed too high and forced a penalty corner.

Harrington cashed in after Arsenault (20 saves) stopped the initial bid by Hanna Jordan.

“It was a great feeling,” Harrington said. “Coach was like, ‘We’ve got to get one right before,’ and I did my little spin move and, boom.”

She lowered the boom again out of the halftime huddle, repeating her redirection of a Jordan offering.

“Sometimes we have games when we can’t get that first goal or just get one,” Wescott said. “If we get two, it builds confidence after that.”

Winthrop averted the shutout when Cat Ouellette cashed in a penalty corner with 14:10 remaining.

The Greyhounds weren’t nearly done. Nicholson achieved atonement by lofting her penalty stroke over Arsenault’s head and under the crossbar for a 4-1 lead.

Nicholson was awarded a first-half stroke and employed the same strategy, but that one rattled the bar and stayed out.

“How unlucky is that? It’s always good to get a second chance,” she said.

Arianna Kahler got into the act, scoring on a pair of late bang-bang plays. Cutler and Sarah Craig notched the assists.

Stevie Charest made seven saves for the Greyhounds, who hope the win was enough to hoist them into next Thursday’s MVC championship game at Dirigo against Spruce Mountain. Monday’s game against Oak Hill is a must-win in that equation.

“We finished today. That was the goal for today, and to stay intense the whole game,” Wescott said.

koakes@sunjournal.com

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