By Dan Barile
Eagle Times Correspondent
Field hockey fans in Sullivan County have had the opportunity to watch two of the best Division 3 field hockey teams in the state this season with Newport (12-2) entering the playoffs as the No. 2 seed and Stevens (11-2-1) right behind as the No. 3 seed.
The Division 3 playdowns took place on Wednesday, Oct. 18, and while Newport and Stevens did not have to compete after earning automatic bids to the quarterfinals, you can be sure they had an interest in the results of Wednesday’s games. No. 6 seed Mascoma Valley (11-4) defeated No. 11 seed White Mountains in the playdowns and will now play at Stevens on Saturday, Oct. 21, at 2 p.m. No. 7 seed Berlin (10-5) beat No. 10 seed Hopkinton to set up a game at Newport that will also take place on Saturday, Oct. 21 at 2 p.m.
Stevens defeated Mascoma in their only matchup this season on Oct. 4, in a final score of 2-1. Despite the victory, it wouldn’t be surprising if Stevens is still looking for revenge after losing 2-1 in double overtime to Mascoma in last season’s playdowns. While Newport and Berlin did not face each other in the regular season, this will be the second straight year they will be squaring-off in the quarterfinals. Taylor Fellows scored the go-ahead goal with 2 minutes remaining in last season’s game to give Newport a 4-3 victory.
If Newport and Stevens can avoid being upset in the quarterfinals, they will advance to play each other in the semifinals on Wednesday, Oct. 25, at Bill Ball Stadium in Exeter. This would be the third matchup of the season between the rivals.
Newport won the first contest, 3-1, in front of their home crowd on Sept. 16. For Stevens, it was their second loss in a row after losing at Kearsarge a couple of nights earlier. Since the loss at Newport, Stevens has gone undefeated while reeling off eight wins and a tie.
One of those wins was a 4-1 victory over Newport on Oct. 10. The victory was a big one for first-year Stevens Head Coach Abbey Rouillard, not only because it was against Newport, but also because it was the first edition of the Deschaine-Flint Cup.
While you can be sure that Coach Martin has Newport focused on the Saturday, Oct. 21, game against Berlin, and Coach Rouillard has Stevens focused on playing Mascoma, it’s hard not to look ahead and be excited about the possibility of a semifinal matchup between Newport and Stevens.
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