By Wayne E. Rivet
Staff Writer

On a day when Bailey Frost was sick, she made the most of her shots.

Frost scored twice to lift Fryeburg Academy to a 2-1 victory over Lake Region last Wednesday afternoon at Linda Whitney Field.

“I was surprised that I was able to play that well considering I was sick. On the first goal, it was a play that we’ve worked on a lot in practice, and I finally got it right,” Frost said. “I was sick at halftime, so it was a little weird that on a day that I’m not feeling well, I got both goals.”

The Raiders, who won the first meeting, dominated the first half. FA peppered Laker goalie Shannon VanLoan, but managed just a 1-0 lead at the half as Aslyn Dindorf drilled a shot from just outside the scoring circle, which Frost tipped into the net at 12:28.

The Raiders nearly scored again at 7:22 off a penalty corner as Sage Hennessy knocked a drive toward the right post, but the ball was deflected away at the last second by Lake Region sophomore sweeper Kayla Reinhard.

Fryeburg seemingly was ready to blow open the game when Frost scored her second goal just minutes into the second half off a penalty corner. Frost drilled a bullet from the left side, which beat VanLoan to her right. The goal came as somewhat of a surprise to Frost.

“I knew it was going to count because I purposely hit it inside the circle. Normally, the shot is kicked out by the goalie and we have someone there to tap it in — that’s the play. I was shocked that it was my goal because no one had touched it,” the FA senior captain said.

Then, the tide seemed to turn.

The Lakers carried play, and nearly scored at 23:54 as a pass crossing the Raider goal mouth was just missed at the far post by LR sophomore forward Kristina Morton. The Lakers finally cracked the FA defense with 11:26 left in regulation as Alice Sanborn beat Raider goalie Brittany Fox to the stick side.

“I thought our desire was a lot lower in the second half. Our heart wasn’t in it. After the second goal, we played laid back. I think that because we had won last time and were up 2-0, we thought the game was over,” Bailey Frost said. “The score shouldn’t matter. They almost tied it up. We need to put our full effort into it all the time.”

FA Head Coach Dede Frost saw her team start to run out of gas.

“I honestly think it was fatigue, and I don’t know why. In the first half, we came out quick and had 22 shots. We didn’t put the ball in the goal, but everything seemed under control. We had some gorgeous corners, and their goalie did a great job,” Coach Frost said. “We need to finish. We had all those shots, but just one goal, which allows another team to stay in the game.”

The Raiders unloaded 47 shots, while Lake Region goalie Shannon VanLoan recorded 22 saves.

After the Raiders went up 2-0, Coach Frost could see her team losing some rhythm.

“We were hacking and made a number of mistakes, and we lost our momentum,” she said. “At the 14 minute mark, I remember thinking ‘How many minutes are there left in this game,’ because we were just holding on at that point.”

Frost called timeout, and in talking with players, she thought they were ready to take command once more. Instead, Lake Region did. Sanborn scored and the Lakers seemed to find a new gear. They kept pressuring the Raider end behind strong efforts from Chelcie Murch, Monica Couvillion and Kayleigh Lepage.

“We were lucky to come out of here with a 2-1 win. First half, it should have been 5-0. Second half, they (Lake Region) had chances to tie it up. We just disappeared and went home the last 15 minutes of the game,” Coach Frost said.

Frost said the Raider defense needs to stay sharp and focused for the entire 60 minutes. Because the Raiders kept the Lakers pinned in their own end for most of the first half, the FA defense rarely touched the ball.

“Three of our defenders never touched the ball in the first half, and our defense wasn’t into the flow of the game in the second half when Lake Region started to pressure us. We missed balls. We didn’t get back. There were huge gaps between players,” Coach Frost said. “I’m petrified of those games when you dominate but don’t score, and then the other teams comes back and scores, and suddenly it’s a tight game again.”

On a plus side, Coach Frost saw some “pretty” hockey being played by her Raiders.

“Both of our goals were scored off specific plays. That’s kind of fun when you can execute a play and score. That’s a coach’s dream,” she said. “I was excited about those things. When it is done right, it is really pretty to watch.”

LR Coach Dagny Leland said her players need to trust their abilities and start games quicker. LR has lost several close contests.

“It’s not like we don’t have the skills, because we do. What we lack is the intensity and aggressiveness. We feel it from the other teams, and we become more intense,” Coach Leland said. “The girls have been playing very well, but just need to know what their limits are. We continue to work hard. We need to be more consistent with our intensity from beginning to end.”

In other games:

Wells 3, Lakers 2. The Lakers lost a tight one to the Warriors. Monica Couvillion and Chelcie Murch scored the LR goals.

Falmouth 1, Lakers 0 OT. “Falmouth was aggressive and quick,” LR Coach Leland said. “Both ends of the goal saw action, and it just happened that there was a centering pass and drive that went in for Falmouth. We have been very close in each game. We are definitely up for the challenges that face us, and we will continue to play up to our potential.”

Laker goalie Shannon VanLoan made nine saves.

Scoring correction. In last week’s scoring account of the Lakers’ win over Gray-New Gloucester, there were some mistakes (a report in a daily newspaper was inaccurate, despite information sent by Coach Leland). Scorers were: Kristina Morton 2 goals, Alice Sanborn 1, Monica Couvillion 1. Assists: Monica Couvillion and Abby Craffey.

Editor’s note: When coaches fail to send scoring summaries to The News as requested, information is taken from daily newspaper accounts.

Up next: The Lakers host York today, Sept. 23, at 4 p.m.; host Wells on Saturday at 10 a.m.; travel to Sacopee Valley on Monday at 4 p.m.; and host Greely on Wednesday, Sept. 29 at 4 p.m.

Raiders 3, Sacopee 2: Bailey Frost recorded a hat trick as Fryeburg edged Sacopee Valley at the Academy last Friday. Christina DiPietro set up the second Frost goal, while Maddie Smith set up the game winner with 15:44 remaining. Brittany Fox had 10 saves as the Raiders (4-2) logged their third straight win.

The Raiders host Gray-NG today, Sept. 23, at 4 p.m.; travel to Cape Elizabeth on Saturday for a 1 p.m. game; travel to Yarmouth on Monday for a 6 p.m. game; and host Poland on Wednesday, Sept. 29 at 4 p.m.