BEDFORD -- The goal for the Keene High School field hockey team was to reach the Division I semifinals for only the third time in program history, but as every win through an unbeaten regular season piled up, the Blackbirds began to think bigger.
Saturday afternoon against defending champion Dover, the top-seeded Blackbirds didn't waste their opportunity in their first championship game, as Olive Thatcher's goal early in the fourth quarter stood to give Keene the school's first field hockey championship with a 1-0 Division I victory over No. 2 Dover at Bedford High School.
"It's unreal, this is like a dream come true for these girls," Keene coach Michelle Tiani said. 'We really felt like if we had this chance that we'd be successful. But now it happened, so everyone knows that Keene is good. I'm so happy for them."
The Blackbirds (18-0-1) piled up 11 shutouts along the way and finished with a nine-game winning streak.
"It feels like a dream; it doesn't seem real," Keene senior captain Sophia Miller said. "I think a couple of years ago this would've been so out of reach, but this year we had the perfect group of girls and it was bound to happen."
Dover coach Sarah Michaud can relate to Keene's emotions after going through a simlar journey last year. Dover ended a 48-year championship drought during an undefeated season that ended with a 2-0 win over Windham in last year's title game.
The Green wave (15-3-1) came into the championship game short-handed after center Giana Leonadri tore her ACL after scoring a goal during Dover's 3-2 overtime semifinal win over No. 3 Exeter.
"Our girls battled today, we faced adversity, changed up the lineup and honestly our girls played great," Michaud said. "Keene played phenomenal and this was a very special season for them and it reminds (us) of our season last year."
Keene dictated the pace and controlled possession to threaten Dover goalie Scarlet Gray in the third quarter when she stopped a backhanded blast by Miller and thwarted another attempt by Emma Cossaboon to keep the game scoreless in the fourth quarter.
Keene finally found a way to beat Gray when Thatcher slammed home a rebound of a McKenna Nelson shot to give the Blackbirds a 1-0 lead with 10:47 left in regulation.
"We just kept on saying 'knocking on the door, knocking on the door. Stop knocking and put it in,'" Tiani said. "That's an adjustment we made at halftime. She's saving, so just go to the net and poke it back in. That was classic Olive."
Dover was granted a last-ditch chance when it was awarded a penalty corner with no time left on the clock. Dover found the option who it wanted in Erin Lynch, who scored the game-tying and winning goals in Wednesday's win over Exeter.
There was no magic for Lynch this time, as her blast was deflected away to clear the penalty corner.
"I wanted it to be a little bit in the air because those shots are harder if it bounces and it kind of catches the goalie off guard, but Keene's a great team," Lynch said.
Division II
Top-seeded Hollis-Brookline left little doubt from the beginning of the Division II championship game, as the Cavaliers emerged victorious via a 2-0 decision over defending champion and third-seeded John Stark (15-4).
The win gave Hollis-Brookline (18-1) the second championship in its program's history, 34 years after a win over Winnisquam in the 1990 Class M-S championship game.
"I just knew that we were fired up, I just knew that we were ready and we just came out like we were shot out of a cannon. It was just that simple," Hollis-Brookline coach Greg Cochrane said. "We controlled, we beat them to the ball and we tried to be aggressive and in front of their players all night."
Emily Tebbetts scored off an assist from Ashley Disco to give the Cavaliers a 1-0 lead with 5:24 left in the third quarter. Addison Marchant added an insurance goal in the third quarter.
"I'm so proud of this team. We deserve this, we worked so hard from June until now," Tebbetts said. "You can't come in overconfident, but came in with the confidence that we needed to turn the level up and play as hard as we could."
Division III
Top-seeded Gilford completed its undefeated march toward a third-straight Division III crown with a 2-0 victory over No. 6 Bishop Brady.
Gilford won the sixth Division III crown in program history and it followed championship wins over Bishop Brady in 2022 and Berlin last year.
"The girls earned it and they've worked so hard since Day 1 and they have learned that nothing worth having comes easy and they know every team that we play is going to be out to get us," Gilford coach Joy Southworth said. "They just have to be ready to answer back and play Gilford field hockey until the last second, and that's what we do."
Olivia Keenan gave Gilford a 1-0 with 6:26 left in the first quarter and Grace Kelly added a fourth-quarter goal for the Golden Eagles.
"Our team work was the key, which we figured out early on in the season," Southworth said. "We had some battles, some things we had to work through, but every time we came out from those battles the girls came out stronger."