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BY GARY HAWKINS, Staff Writer 10/24/2008

enlarge Staff photo by Joe Phelan

FLYING SHOT: Gardiner’s Hailey Chadbourne shoots and misses during the second half of an Eastern Class A playoff game Thursday at Somerville Field in Gardiner. The Tigers won 1-0.

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GARDINER -- Given its reputation for excellence as well as its No. 3 seeding, it seemed inevitable the Gardiner field hockey team would knock off No. 6 Bangor in their Eastern Maine Class A quarterfinal Thursday.

The Tigers did pull out the win, but it didn't come easily. They threatened many times during the game but didn't put the ball in the cage until Katie Schide tipped home a shot with just more than 10 minutes to play.

The 1-0 score stood and propelled Gardiner (13-2-0) to a semifinal showdown Saturday against No. 2 seed and seven-time defending state champion Skowhegan.

"I think we were frustrated we weren't finishing in the circle," said Schide, a junior midfielder.

As they did during their 2-1 regular-season win against Bangor (8-7), the Tigers dominated the statistics. They took 18 penalty corners to five for the visiting Rams. One of those eventually paid off. It was Schide who put the ball in play off the corner to Lauren Gorham, who ripped a hard shot toward Bangor goalie Hilary Babin.

"The first (shot) was blocked and it got behind (the defender) and I shot it again," Gorham said. "And Katie tipped it in."

Along with Hailey Chadbourne and Becky Pelletier, Gorham is one of three team captains who pushed the team to play harder following a scoreless half. The Tigers came out hard in the second half but Bangor's defense held.

"We expected this from Bangor," Gardiner coach Moe McNally said. "We've seen them once and we saw some huge improvement, and their goalie's tough."

Babin finished with 11 saves, including two difficult stops off Chadbourne shots, while Gardiner's Alley Beaulieu made just one save. Still, it was anyone's game before Schide's goal.

In addition to losing twice by a goal to Gardiner this season, Bangor also lost by a goal to Cony and Messalonskee, the other two teams in the semifinals.

"We're hanging in there," Bangor coach Lisa McPhee said. "But we've still got a ways to go."

Like the rest of the teams in Eastern Maine Class A, Gardiner knows the road to the championship goes through Skowhegan.

"It's the third time I've played them in the playoffs," Schide said. "If we play hard, I know we can play with them."

Gary Hawkins -- 621-5638

ghawkins@centralmaine.com

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