EXETER — Kearsarge field hockey hasn’t been this good since 1980, when it won the state championship in its sole appearance. The Cougars’ 1-0 semifinal win over Mascenic on Thursday brought them back to the big game.
No. 3 Kearsarge cruised to a 14-2 record this season, its best since 2021, and it made its first final-four appearance since 2001. Getting over the quarterfinals hump was big, and this 15th win to go to the final was special.
After a scoreless three quarters, it was anyone’s game. Both goalkeepers, Kearsarge freshman Noelle Swanson and Mascenic junior Evelynn Shippee, kept their teams in the contest and made big saves on both ends.
Kearsarge senior midfielder Stella Syvertsen carried the ball upfield down the right side and cut into the circle with eight minutes left in the contest. She battled through four defenders on her way. After her first pass was blocked, she gathered it again to send it to junior Adella Monnat, who quickly shot it into the bottom left.
The shock of the long-awaited goal froze the Cougars for a second, and then they erupted.
“It felt unbelievable, but I knew it wasn’t over because we still had to hold them for half of a quarter. It was a relief to be on the board. It was a solid assist from Stella, everyone was in position, and executed exactly how we’ve practiced,” Monnat said.
No. 2 Mascenic (13-2-1) entered the game hunting for its second consecutive finals appearance after falling to St. Thomas, 4-0, last year. This current iteration of the Vikings had a chance to reach heights the program hasn’t seen since a three-year run of championship appearances from 1999 to 2001, winning back-to-back in ’01 and ’02.
Either way, the winner of this game was going to make history for its school.
Immediately after Kearsarge’s goal, the Vikings took it down the other end and had three separate shots on target. The first one, high from junior forward Hailey Saari, was blocked by Swanson near her helmet, and the rebounds were shot back in by freshman Reese Alix.
Kearsarge stood tall against the flurry of shots. The Vikings had two corners in the fourth, but were stopped both times and could not find the late goal.
“I thought we dominated many aspects of this game. We had a couple of letdowns, and they took advantage of it, and we didn’t take advantage of our opportunities,” Mascenic coach Selena Shaw said.
Junior Reagan Billado, senior Ava Nolan-Waddell, freshman Clair Priest and the entire Cougars defense all stepped up in big moments to cut off the Vikings’ attack.
These kinds of performances were the ones that Kearsarge had direly needed in the past to move forward in the playoffs. Everyone stepped up for 60 minutes, Kearsarge head coach Chelsea Williams explained.
“I knew if we hung in there and felt a little more comfortable out there that we were going to start playing our game,” she said.
The Cougars will now face the top-seeded Gilford Golden Eagles on Saturday in Bedford for the Division III championship. The Golden Eagles beat the Cougars in the regular season, 2-1.
To reach the final, Gilford defeated Hopkinton, 6-4, in a completely different semifinal stylistically, and Kearsarge will have work to do on both ends to keep pace.
