LEWISTON — The Belfast field hockey team entered this season with a brand-new trophy already proudly displayed at their school. From day one, the Lions had their sights set on adding another championship to their collection.
“That was their goal all season, to be back here and to repeat,” said coach Jan Jackson. “We worked really hard for that as a team, and we did it.”
Jocelyn Valleau scored the game’s only goal off a corner in the third quarter, helping Belfast complete an undefeated season with a 1-0 victory over Freeport in the Class B final Saturday evening at Lewiston High School.
“It means so much to us. This team, specifically, because we’ve all been playing with each other since we were little,” said midfielder Halle Tarbox, the KVAC Class B Player of the Year and one of 12 seniors on the Lions’ roster. Belfast finished the season with an impressive 18-0 record. “It’s just really nice to share this incredible moment with them.”
The feeling of victory was much more relaxed compared to last year, when Belfast battled Yarmouth through overtimes and into corners before finally prevailing.
“It’s much more ease-into-it,” Valleau said. “It feels much better than the stressful overtime.”
Freeport, which entered the game with a 14-4 record and a senior class of 13 players, pressured early and late but could not find the goal needed for a shot at their second state title in three years.
“We played our game. I’m super proud of them,” said Freeport coach Marcia Wood. “I know they’re hurting, but I just wanted to get to this game.”
Belfast had to overcome the graduation of star player Bre Shorey, who tallied 44 goals last year and 128 for her career — third all-time in Maine history. Despite her absence, the veteran Lions maintained their dominance, having outscored opponents 71-8 entering the final.
“I think some people thought, ‘I don’t know who’s going to put the goals in,’” Jackson said. “But I said, ‘They’re all going to. They’re all going to do it.’”
After a scoreless first half, it was Valleau’s turn to deliver. On Belfast’s 10th corner, she passed to Allison Friel, who returned the ball down. Valleau then won a battle for the ball, slipped past Freeport defensive ace Lizalyn Boudreau, and put a reverse shot in the goal for a 1-0 lead with 6:20 remaining in the third quarter.
“I’ve shot goals like that before in games,” Valleau said, “so I knew that if I was able to reverse it and just tip it in a little bit, I could get it in.”
Jackson praised Valleau’s performance, highlighting her skill set that will take her to Division II Franklin Pierce next year.
“She has amazing skills,” Jackson said. “She’s all field hockey, she’s amazing.”
Freeport became increasingly aggressive in the fourth quarter, spending most of the period in the Belfast end in search of a tying goal. Their best chances came with just over 11 minutes left, when Emily Groves and Liza Flower had back-to-back shots saved by Belfast’s Nikki Shorey, followed by a near miss from Abby Cormier.
The game marked the final outing for Freeport’s senior core, which had brought the Falcons to three finals in four years.
“It put us on the map,” Wood said. “It got the love for the littles. We saw the youth kiddos in the stands today, and they get to see that and they get to say, ‘I want to do that some day.’ We’ve built a good thing here.”
https://www.centralmaine.com/2025/11/08/belfast-holds-off-freeport-to-defend-class-b-field-hockey-title/
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