Chelsea Field Hockey Division 2 State Runner-Up

Chelsea field hockey’s bid for its first state title since 2012 came up just short with a 3-0 loss to Dexter at The Hawk in Farmington Hills Saturday.

The Dreadnaughts defense was stifling as the Bulldogs had just one shot on net in the whole game with that coming in the early moments of the first quarter.

Bulldog goaltender Elizabeth Lane was stellar in net with numerous diving saves to keep the game close and finished with 13 stops on the day.

Dexter would score in each of the first three periods to take the 3-0 lead and the Bulldogs were unable to do much against the Dreads defense.

The Bulldogs reached the final by blanking Father Gabriel Richard 2-0 Thursday.

Chelsea took a 1-0 lead in the first period when the Bulldogs were awarded three straight corners. The third was the charm for the Bulldogs when Braeden Scheffler took the corner pass and tried a shot on goal that was blocked to Kyla Sullivan, who knocked it in.

The score would remain 1-0 until late in the fourth.

FGR had a chance with a corner with just over three minutes remaining, but the shot went just wide of the net.

Chelsea would seal the win when Sullivan took a pass from Azlyn Eckert, made a quick move and sent a pass back to Eckert who knocked a shot into the net with 1:27 left in the game.

Lane would finish with six saves in the game, including four on corners by FGR.

Chelsea opened the week with an exciting 1-0 quarterfinal win in overtime over Grosse Pointe South.

The Bulldogs dominated the match, outshooting GPS 17-1, but could not get one into the net in a scoreless game through regulation.

Chelsea would win it eight minutes into the overtime period when Hayley Hopkins knocked in the winning goal with an assist to Scheffler.

The Bulldogs finish their season with a 12-6-3 overall record.

Photos by Dawn McCann