Windham field hockey gets OT win over Souhegan
Katie Bourque likes the way her Windham High School field hockey team plays defense.
AMHERST – Katie Bourque likes the way her Windham High School field hockey team plays defense.
Against Souhegan in Tuesday’s season opener, the Jaguars showed why.
Windham held Souhegan scoreless on all 15 of its penalty corners, including seven in the final 10 minutes of regulation, and got a goal from Emma Lindquist early in overtime to win 2-1 in Division II action.
“Our three fliers are phenomenal,” Bourque said of her team’s defense of the corners. “Be fearless and go out there and give your all. You want to alter their shot and create a different play than the one they have.”
Bri Langlois also scored for the Jaguars (1-0) just 1:11 into the game, with both Windham goals coming off a corner.
Souhegan (0-1) tied the game with 16:21 left in the first half on a goal by Kaylyn Forest (assisted by Timber Devine) and the Sabers had several other opportunities, particularly in the second half, to take the lead.
But Souhegan couldn’t take advantage.
“The start was really slow and it ended up being Windham’s first goal that really killed us,” Souhegan coach Kelli Braley said. “After that, we controlled the vast majority of that game. I’m proud of the way they play, I’m proud of the way they rebounded after that first goal, because that can be deflating, especially against a team like Windham.”
That’s what happened when the teams met in the season opener a year ago, when the Jaguars dominated on the way to a 5-0 win over the Sabers. Windham won again when the teams met in the semifinals, but Bourque made sure her team knew things were going to be different this time around.
“One thing we preach, any team can win any game,” she said. “We knew Souhegan was going to come out and give us a test and we were fortunate and lucky to put one in early. Souhegan made it a game and tied it up.”
Windham had a chance to game in the first minute of overtime, but a shot at the open side of the net went wide and Souhegan cleared the ball. But the Jaguars brought it back in, got a corner, and Lindquist was able to redirect a pass into the goal to end the game.
“This was an earned win,” Bourque said. “Souhegan is a great team and we definitely had to work. It took the whole time and then some to get this decided. I was proud of their effort. They didn’t stop and got it done.”
