FREEPORT – The playoffs are just over a week away. The Freeport field hockey certainly seems ready.

Emily Groves scored twice and had an assist, Reed Proscia added another and the undefeated Falcons aced their biggest remaining regular-season test with a 3-1 win over Gray-New Gloucester/North Yarmouth Academy on a chilly Wednesday evening.

Freeport improved to 12-0. GNG/NYA, which got a goal from Kenlie Nadeau, fell to 10-2.

“Being undefeated this late in the season is a big accomplishment,” Groves said. “Our bond is a huge part of our team. A lot of people don’t realize that, but that is what makes us good and that’s why we feel so confident in ourselves and in each other.”

The Falcons have won 20 straight, and they didn’t leave much room for doubt. Freeport accumulated all of the game’s 14 corners and showcased the defensive pressure and relentless transition that’s become a hallmark of its success. The Patriots struggled for three quarters to get the ball consistently downfield as players like center midfielder Lizalyn Boudreau, Dailia McCarthy and Proscia knocked down hits and intercepted passes and sparked quick counterattacks.

“I think we have a really good knack for knowing where we’re all going to be, and being able to space out the right way,” Boudreau said. “It’s something we’ve gotten better at over the years, playing together a lot and just improving our skills.”

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Freeport has outscored opponents 50-3.

“I think a lot of people look at our scoring differential, and I think they just see ‘Oh, we’re really good at offense,’ ” Groves said. “But that’s definitely not all of it. Our defenders are very good, and they don’t get enough credit.”

Groves scored with 9:57 left in the first when the Falcons brought the ball into the circle and the Patriots couldn’t clear, and again with 12:47 left in the second when she took a feed from Proscia and snapped a shot in from the left.

Groves had a hand in the third goal as well when she didn’t get all of a shot, it deflected off goalie Samantha Poulin’s pad and Proscia scored on the rebound with 6:31 left in the third.

That was all the Falcons scored despite waves of pressure, however, and Coach Marcia Wood took the opportunity to stoke her team.

“It took us a little bit to get going today,” she said. “I said that to them at one of the timeouts, I was like ‘I’m going to be a little nitpicky now.’ … We had a beautiful cross that nobody touched, and I was like ‘I understand that we’re up, but in a tight, big game, that might be our only chance.’ ”

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Poulin’s goalkeeping and a resilient Patriots defense kept the score close, and GNG/NYA became the third team to strike against the Falcons when Emma Bowden found Nadeau on a rush with 5:35 to play.

“One of our hurdles this current season is that we have a very young team, so the mental toughness part of it, that is a big struggle for us,” Coach Julia Leary said. “They’ve been playing really, really well. We came into this game telling them they had nothing to lose. Win or lose, it changes nothing for us.”

Leary said the experience could help with the playoffs looming.

“They learned a lot of things, little tweaks here and there,” she said. “I think it boosts their self-esteem a little bit. Losing 3-1 to the reigning state champs is actually OK. We told them we’re not disappointed in how they played at all. I think we’re going to be OK.”

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