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Croteau, Sweeny carry Jags to miracle win

Windham had whipped St. Thomas 5-0 and 3-0 in the regular season but yesterday was a much different story.

STA seemingly had their Division 2 semifinal field hockey matchup well in hand ... until Nikki Croteau pulled a rabbit out of the hat. The junior forward scored with a mere eight seconds left in regulation. Then Courtney Sweeny tallied her school record 27th goal of the fall and the Jags had an improbable 3-2 win.

They'll play Merrimack Valley Sunday for the state title.

"Rachel Lanouette got her the ball and she just cranked it into the net. We were just absolutely shocked," said Windham coach Amanda Ward. "The majority of the team believed we could do it. Then Courtney took it down the field and slammed it in."

Kelsey Federico made nine saves.

"She played phenomenally well," said Ward. "She definitely kept us in the game."

No. 1 Windham, which lost in last year's final, improved to 14-1-1 while No. 5 STA finishes up at 11-5. Merrimack Valley, the No. 6 seed, has a 12-4-1 record after yesterday's win over once-beaten defending champion Lebanon. Windham beat MV 4-1 on Sept. 14.