The final few minutes of Saturday’s Division 2 state championship field hockey game were so dramatic, so intense, and so loud, that the teams didn’t even know at first when it was over.
For a couple of seconds after the officials blew the whistles, the scrum continued just feet from the Watertown goal. Then came the realization it was finished. Then came the realization of what the Raiders had just done.
They had just become the crowned princesses of the state.
“After I realized the final whistle blew, I just broke down hysterically crying,” said junior Katie Carlson, her voice briefly cracking as she recounted the moment. “We just won a state title. I can’t believe this is happening.”
The 1-0 triumph over Central champion Oakmont showed, in so many ways, the true talent of the two squads. Through most of the season, and a large part of the tournament, both Watertown and Oakmont were able to blow out opponents on the strength of sheer talent and scoring ability. But evenly matched on the Worcester State College turf, it came down to a shot in the first half from Raider junior Jessica Doggett that seemed to have eyes for the goal, and a phenomenal Watertown defensive effort against a Spartan squad that had scored 23 goals in five tourney games.
“They were a good team, and we were obviously a good team too,” said senior co-captain Emily Sideris, who anchored the defensive stand, along with fellow senior co-captain Kelsey Prendergast, Carlson and junior Kaylee McNamara. “It was a good match. It was really intense the whole game. It really could have gone either way.
“There was a lot of pressure on us. But we stood our ground."
Especially at the end when Oakmont had one goal disallowed because a whistle for a penalty corner sounded right before the Spartans knocked in what appeared to be the tying goal with 5:22 left, then had another waved off 30 seconds later because it went in off a player’s foot.
“I swallowed my heart a few times,” Carlson admitted. “I couldn’t believe the last couple of minutes. I was counting down. I kept looking at the clock – three minutes, two minutes – then with 44 seconds they were in my end and I was biting my tongue.”
Sideris picked off the last Oakmont free hit with 38 seconds left and Doggett got a time-consuming clear. The Spartans managed to get the ball back down the Watertown end one last time, but the clock expired before they could get another shot on goal.
“It’s amazing to win it, especially to end your senior year on it,” said Prendergast, who put forth a phenomenal effort Saturday sprinting from the midfield to the back, breaking up Oakmont attacks. “Back in my freshman year, I never thought it would be me to win (a state title). It feels so good that it includes me. I’ve heard about these, but it’s crazy to be on one as a senior.”
The championship is the 10th in Watertown program history, but the first since the Raiders won back-to-back titles in 2001-2002.
“They still had many championships to be extremely proud of before this,” Watertown coach Eileen Donahue said of the current squad. “It wasn’t easy to win a Middlesex League and win a North Sectional. They had four of those coming into this game. When you get to this point, if you get (the title), you get it. But if you don’t, you don’t.
“You still made it there and you just want to give a good performance. Fortunately, they did today.”
The Raiders survived some tense moments early – including a sweeping, reverse shot that spun high in the air and caught the crossbar of the Watertown goal – before gaining their footing on the Worcester State turf.
Watertown played a lot of defense in the first few minutes as the quartet of Carlson, McNamara, Prendergast and Sideris stood strong in front of sophomore goalie Kayla Costa, who booted away a few critical saves in her second straight tournament shutout.
With Oakmont’s prolific offense, the Raiders knew they would be tested in the back in this one. That’s probably why Donahue had four of her most experienced and skilled players back there in front of Costa.
“We have really strong forwards,” Carlson said, “but we need to counter that with strong defense as well because these teams at the end are going to be really, really, really good on attack.”
Prendergast said the goal was to push the ball wide out of the defensive end to keep the ball away from Oakmont’s powerful middle attack. The strategy worked long enough for Watertown’s offense to finally strike with 11:30 left in the first half. Doggett took a feed from Sideris and the slight junior ripped a mighty shot that made its way through the bodies in front of the goal to the back of the net.
Play got feisty on both sides through the end of the first half, and into the second, with two green cards issued and the officials warning players on several occasions to watch elbows and body contact. Watertown had its share of attacks behind the aggressive play of juniors Bianca Jones, Lyndsey Daley, sophomores Erika Kelly, Lauren Giordano, and freshman Alyssa Carlson, but as the game grew long, the focus turned to protecting the one-goal goal lead and securing the 1-0 victory.
“At the end, it was just delay, delay, delay,” said Prendergast, who watched from the back as the Raiders wasted about 30 seconds playing keepaway in the corner at the three-minute mark before Oakmont made its final charge. “We weren’t even trying to shoot anymore because we knew that just gave them opportunities to get it out.”
The Spartans got it out. But it didn’t matter. The Raider defense was up to the task. And after seven years, the state title was back in Watertown’s hands, at last.
“You live for this,” Katie Carlson declared. “This is awesome.”
A beaming Sideris agreed.
“It’s the best feeling in the world.”
(Scott Souza is a Daily News staff writer. He can be reached at 781-398-8006 or ssouza@cnc.com.)
