Champs

This season the Lady Phoenix Laxers came right out of the chute, one-by-one knocking off each of the contenders for MAISAD league supremacy. Then Hebron and Gould beat them the second time around, Hebron doing so soundly.

Seeded second in the tournament, we got by Kents Hill in the first round and began preparing for championship glory vs. first-seeded Hebron, victors over Gould.

With the whole school bused into Hebron, we set to work, controlling the first few minutes of the game. We did everything but score. Hebron managed to pepper our goal with shots, but thanks to the amazing goal-tending of Alyssa Thomas ’11 (17 saves on the day), we were still in it.

Hebron was up 3-Zip before Olivia Chance ’10 decided she’d had enough and took it hard to the cage for our first goal. Olivia countered again, Scout Gauld ’10 followed with another, and we went into the half down by 1.

While Scout netted one in the early going of the second half, the next 15 minutes belonged to Hebron and the Phoenix found themselves down 7-4 with 10 minutes to go. You could feel the crowd preparing to accept the “runner up” trophy. Cheering from the sidelines, it felt to me that the players were settling into similar acceptance. Then, to quote author Joseph Heller, “Something Happened.”

Olivia led the charge, ripping two consecutive goals, bringing her game total to four, to make it 7-6. It was not hard to sense the fact that the crowd had reassessed its outlook. Scout’s third goal of the day tied it up at 7 with three minutes to play. Frenzied play found the ball trading ends with Alyssa meeting good shots with dramatic (and heart-stopping!) denials.

Then Zoe Dorian ’10 found Hannah MacMillan ’10 for her first goal of the day and the one that proved to be the game winner. The final horn sounded with Alyssa securing the ball and the Hyde players and fans erupted into intoxicating pandemonium.

Driving home, I couldn’t help but feel nostalgic about the fact that I had just watched my last game as a Hyde parent and grateful for the memories I have stored away from the last six years of watching Scout and Mahalia ’08 on countless fields and basketball courts.

Me, back in the day. Click image to see full size.

I also couldn’t help but contrast the mood of the day with the way I felt 38 years ago when I lost my last game in a Hyde uniform – also on a lacrosse field, also to Hebron. Prior to that game, my fellow co-captain (Chris Richards ’72 – parent of Grace ’12.) and I made a bet with the school: If we lose we will get short haircuts. (If the attached black & while picture of me doesn’t hint at what hair length meant back then, well, you had to be there.) We lost 8-3 and Chris and I found ourselves in a barber chair.

There aren’t any photographs chronicling that overcast day in 1972, but if there were, they wouldn’t look anything like this color one.