FARMINGTON — The last thing Mt. Blue senior Ellie Pelletier planned on was scoring three goals in a Class A North field hockey quarterfinal at sunny and chilly Caldwell Field on Tuesday.
But Pelletier’s hat trick helped steer second-ranked Mt. Blue (10-3-2) to a 4-0 victory over No. 7 Bangor (7-7-1).
The Cougars will face third-ranked Cony (11-3-1) in the semifinals Saturday.
Pelletier insisted that turning in a hat trick was not her goal.
“No, and I think it says a lot about the team that they were all assisted goals,” the Mt. Blue senior forward said. “None of them were unassisted. It just shows that it’s really a team effort on this team.
“(The hat trick) feels really good going into the playoffs, but I think it just really shows … our team played really well today. We played a really clean field hockey game, and that’s what we were really looking for.”
The Cougars slapped in three goals in the first half, even though Bangor kept pressing and hassling Mt. Blue goalie Brooke Bolduc.
Freshman Eva Stevens scored at the 26:48 mark followed by back-to-back goals from Pelletier, with assists going to Stevens and junior Molly Harmon, giving the Cougars a 3-0 lead.
In the second half, both teams hammered away at each other before Pelletier scored her third goal on a feed from sophomore Whitney Fraser with 18:32 left in the game.
From there, Mt. Blue held on and Bolduc made sure the Rams would draw a blank against her. She made five saves for the day.
“It was awesome. Really good passing, great team play and awesome finishing,” Mt. Blue coach Jody Harmon said. “Getting the ball in the cage, which was something we wanted to do. Seeing the whole field and the constant passing was great. Everyone did their part, which was nice to see.”
Harmon pointed out that Bangor was no pushover, either.
“They have improved so much. Every year, they are getting stronger,” Harmon said. “And No. 5 (Meaghan Caron), wow, she is fast.”
The Cougars outshot the Rams 12-5 and held the advantage in corners, 9-5.
“After halftime, we talked about anticipating and intercepting,” Bangor coach Kasey Danforth said. “Seeing the whole field and marking up on defense and getting the ball into open space.
“(The Cougars) move really well and communicate really well. We just played them last Saturday, so it was different. But every game is different, but they are tough and they always play well.”
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