It was a trend the Dexter Dreadnaughts were aware of but something in the end they just couldn’t figure out. And, of course, it happened in the biggest game and on the biggest stage against the team’s biggest rival.
The Dexter field hockey team fell one game – one goal, really – short of its goal to defend their Division 2 state title when rival Chelsea knocked them off in Saturday’s championship game 1-0 at East Grand Rapids HS. Chelsea’s Jikke Kerstens, who led the Bulldogs with five shots, scored the game’s only goal in the third quarter.
Dexter and Chelsea met three times during the regular season. They played to a 2-2 draw way back on Aug. 28. Dexter won 5-2 on Sept. 20 and 2-0 on Sept. 26.
The Dreadnaughts had a few chances to score, including a close call off a corner early in the game and then a goal late in the game that was waived off for not hitting an offensive stick.
Which brings us to the trend Dexter could never figure out.
“We were never able to come back in any game we got behind in,” said Dexter Coach Keely Tamer. “They were against some really good teams but we struggled to create scoring opportunities when we fell behind. Maybe as a coach I wasn’t saying the right things or pushing the right buttons, but it was something we were aware of. We could never figure out how to make that happen.”
Tamer said the Dreadnaughts’ timing was “a little off” in the championship game but that may have had more to do with Chelsea than anything else.
“It was a pretty even game that was played mostly between the 25s,” Tamer said. “Chelsea had a great season and were very strong all year. They were very talented, very hungry and determined. We were stymied by good defense on Saturday and they deserve a lot of the credit.”
It was the Bulldogs first state title in field hockey as its own program. The old Whippets team that featured players from multiple schools won a state title before breaking off into separate programs.
There is nothing to be ashamed of coming in second place. The Dreadnaughts had another strong season for one of the best programs in the state.
“Still a great season,” Tamer said. “We played very well against some really good field hockey teams. I always prefer playing teams that will challenge us and we included some strong programs on our schedule including out of state teams that only make you better.”
And the Dreadnaughts will be back next year to again challenge for another state title.
“We are losing seven seniors who contributed to the team’s success and will be missed,” Tamer said. “But we have a good group coming back and a strong junior class. We also had a good year at the JV level and many of those players will be keys to our success next year.”
Top-seeded Dexter blanked AA Father Gabriel Richard 5-0 in Thursday’s Division 2 semifinal game at Chelsea to advance to Saturday’s final. The Bulldogs, the second seed, defeated third-seeded Country Day 3-0 in the other semifinal game.
Leading up to the finals, the Dreadnaughts had outscored their three opponents 14-0.
