Coach Friend Weiler couldn’t say enough good things about his Duxbury girls’ hockey team after they were knocked out of the MIAA Division II semi-finals on Thursday night in Bourne.

Facing off against #4-seeded Fontbonne Academy of Milton (17-4-2), the Lady Dragons couldn’t put it together like they did so many times this year, falling to the Ducks, 3-0, at Gallo Arena and ending their season at 18-4-1.

“These girls were phenomenal and I’m proud of all of them,” said Weiler. “They never quit and they deserve all the credit they can get. They are a wonderful group of hockey players and I was thrilled with everything they did.”

The Lady Dragons are a team loaded with underclassmen, and they looked it all night long, as they played tentatively throughout the evening and were never able to generate any consistency in the offense end.

They had their problems in the defensive end as well, as Fontbonne forward Taylor Shepherd scored a hat-trick to almost single-handedly present Duxbury with their walking papers.

“We just ran into a hot Taylor Shepherd and a hot goalie, and they just happened to be better than us tonight,” said Weiler.

Duxbury netminder Julia Hannon was tested early and often, as she was forced to make two big saves in the opening minutes after her teammates couldn’t move the puck out of their own zone.

While the Ducks appeared to be carrying the action, Duxbury did have its share of scoring opportunities, as sophomore Molly O’Sullivan circled the net and almost stuffed one by Fontbonne goalie Kristen Connors of East Weymouth at the 10:08 mark, followed two minutes later by a spectacular rush by sophomore defenseman Martha Findley, who skated over the blue line and faked the defender out of her skates before firing a shot into Connors’ gut.

With Duxbury’s first line on the ice at the six-minute mark, the Lady Dragons had their best flurry of the night, as senior captain Meg Muncey and sophomore fireplug Briana Connolly both had glittering chances to put their team ahead.

The sloppiness that seemed to haunt the Lady Dragons all night long cost them dearly with 5:08 left in the first period when Shepherd picked off a weak pass in the Duxbury zone and whipped a wrist shot past Hannon that just made it inside the left post.

Despite out-shooting the Ducks by a 10-6 margin, Duxbury went into the locker room trailing 1-0.

Shepherd had a chance to make it 2-0 in the first minute of the second period, as she went in alone on Hannon, only to have the junior stop her backhand attempt.

A minute later the Lady Dragons were on the power-play with a chance to tie it up. But their power-play remained stagnant, as the Ducks kept them bottled up in their own end.

With the penalty winding down, the Fontbonne defense spotted Shepherd at center ice and hit her in stride, sending the sophomore forward in alone on Hannon to beat her upstairs for a shorthanded goal and a 2-0 lead with 11:53 left in the period.

Momentum was now in Fontbonne’s favor the rest of the evening, as they had two power-plays in the period, along with killing off Duxbury’s power-play with little trouble.

The Lady Dragons had just 15 minutes left to salvage their season. However, the Ducks continued to carry the play in the final period, as junior forward Kaighla Ridge went right around the Duxbury defense, but couldn’t beat Hannon.

Minutes later another Fontbonne rush put Hannon on her knees, as she pounced on the loose puck with the Ducks swarming her crease.

It took half the period before Duxbury had a serious scoring bid, and things were looking bleak. With 5:07 to go in the game, the Lady Dragons’ chances were all but dead, as Shepherd was in perfect position to pick up a loose puck off a deflection at center ice. Skating in alone on Hannon, she lifted the puck up top to end Duxbury’s season.

“I thought we would be able to spring a few forwards and I knew we would have to put a little more traffic in front of their net because their goalie is so good,” said Weiler. “We just couldn’t get that first pass through the forecheckers. We had our chances, but we put them right on the goalie and she is a great one.”

The loss marked the final varsity hockey game for senior captains Anie Grunwald and Meg Muncey, along with Sam Sinclair.