The Watertown High field hockey team had five ties in the regular season. If regular season rules had applied in its last three games, it would have been eight ties in 21 contests this season.
But the last three games were different - very different - from the regular Middlesex League slate. There was no calling it even in those state tourney tilts. When it came time for the games to continue until there was a winner, the Raiders made sure they were it time, after time, after time.
A shootout victory over Belmont and overtime triumphs over Bishop Fenwick and Manchester-Essex have landed the Raiders (16-0-5) one step away from the state championship game. The final hurdle between them and a date with the Worcester State College turf on Saturday is South champion Hopkinton in the Division 2 state semifinal tonight at Wayland High (7).
``We're the only team that's gone into three overtimes,'' noted Watertown senior defender Sarah MacDougall. ``We're prepared for anything now. We know how it is to have everything come down to the last second, so we know how it is to be under the pressure. But we get it done.''
The Raiders were in position to get it done two years ago, but ran up against a powerhouse Canton team in the state semifinals and fell in a hard-fought defeat at Milton High. After taking a step back last year with an extremely young squad, which included nine freshmen, they are back in the renowned program's familiar perch this fall.
``We've been working hard to get here,'' said goaltender Taylor Connors, one of four seniors on the team. ``We deserve this. We actually have a flow this year. Everyone is much more confident. We're like a team, really. We've really come together last year into this year. We've transformed completely.''
Connors was one of the youngest starters on the team during the North sectional title run in 2006 and now has logged more varsity game minutes than anyone on the squad in the return run to the final four.
``I think this year it's a lot more realistic for me,'' she said. ``We really feel we can do it this year. Our confidence is going to come up huge. Not cockiness, but confidence.''
The confidence seems well-warranted given the Raiders have taken the field 21 times this without a loss. They got out impressively with an early season, 3-0 victory over Lexington Sept. 16 and took command of the Middlesex League title race with a 3-2 victory over Reading Oct. 7.
But there were bumps in the road for the still youngish squad, including a series of close calls and bitter draws late in the regular season. When they had to settle for a 1-1 tie with Belmont in the regular season finale on Oct. 23, the player reaction suggested the draw felt a lot more like a crushing defeat.
But Watertown has risen to the occasion in the playoffs. While the competition has been better, the Raiders continually found a way with the shootout goals from senior Alison Holland and freshman Erika Kelly, as well as four shootout saves from Connors, against Belmont, Kelly's four goals against Fenwick and freshman Lauren Giordano's OT game-winner against Manchester-Essex on Saturday.
It hasn't been the easiest of paths to the state semifinals, but the rocky road may have helped make the Raiders even stronger.
``It's taken a while for us to get to this point where we are now,'' MacDougall said. ``We've worked so hard to get to where we are now. It's been so tough for us. It's been up and down. It's so great to be where we are right now.''
Though Kelly has been the offensive star with six of the team's seven postseason goals, and sophomores Bianca Jones, Katie Carlson and Jessica Doggett all appear to have stepped up their games considerably in the tourney, it is the seniors in back - MacDougall, Holland and Connors - who have been the last line of defense in the winning streak. After letting the play get behind them at times against Fenwick and early in the Manchester-Essex game, MacDougall and Holland stiffened in the circle in the second half of the North sectional final and shut off the dangerous Hornet attack.
MacDougall's steal and big free hit set up Kelly's game-tying goal early in the second half and Holland was the backbone of the defense in the overtime.
``Compared to other teams, we're more of an attacking defense,'' MacDougall said. ``We're really aggressive. Right when we have the ball, our goal is just to get it right out. Don't let them mess around with us in there. Don't let them get near the goal.''
That's been especially true in the 7-v-7 overtimes when the first penalty corner allowed can often mean the game with one less player rushing out of the net.
``In the last three 7-v-7s, we've dominated them all,'' MacDougall noted. ``It's one of our strengths, so we are very confident going into them. The seven girls who go out there know they have to go all out for every ball. Obviously, they're spent when they're out there, but you've just got to do it. You've got to do it for the team.''
In a long season when the coaches try to keep the focus on the next practice or the next game, improvement is seen in small increments. When you've gone more than two months without losing a game and are two victories away from a state championship, it's a sight to behold.
``Once we get everyone going together, with the passing, and calling to each other, and the hustle, it's awesome,'' Connors said. ``It's all how bad you want it. Last year, we didn't have experience necessarily, and it was a rebuilding year. This year, we're exactly where we should be.''
