Girls’ Field Hockey Dominates Dexter

After finishing the first half 1-0, Girls’ Field Hockey rocketed to win the game with a score of 5-3, taking down Dexter Southfield last Friday. This brings the team’s record to 7-7 before E/a Weekend.

Upper Ellie Griffin noted that the team had a spectacular start. “We started off with a lot of intensity so we made great passes up the field and scored early,” she said. “We got ahead and were up 4-0 near the middle of the second half.”

Feeling confident, the team decided to experiment with positions. “We got into a pretty bad slump in the second half, so, in a few minutes, they had brought the score to 4-3,” senior Rianna Parla said. “This was primarily because most of the team had been put in positions they did not normally play.” However, the team was able to regroup and put the players back in their usual positions.

During the game, the team focused on “give and go” plays. “[It] worked pretty well because our passes were fast, and the other team couldn’t keep up,” Parla said. “We were able to keep the ball on their side with this method for most of the game because we didn’t give them much of a chance to defend.”

However, this was not their only tactic. “[One] of our strategies were to move the ball down the sides,” lower Victoria Quinn said. “Jill Cloonan and Molly Longfield always do a really good job with that, and especially in this game. They provided a lot of really good crosses to get it into the circle and spark opportunities.”

Parla noticed that, during the game, the team had improved drastically on passing. “[It’s] why the [‘give and go’] method worked. Usually, as a team we tend to do more dribbling than passing, which is why we sometimes have trouble getting the ball up the field,” she said, “but everyone was pretty unselfish in this game. In general, we outpaced the other team.”

Quinn had some more shout-outs for team members. “Some strengths in the game were that we had a lot of really good transitions down the field, and also re-defending and stopping their hits. Sophia Rosati and Ellie Griffin did a really good job stepping to ball making defensive stops,” she said. “Also, [goalies] Ursie Wise and Annie Smaldone both had great saves in net.”

The team continues to work on improving communication, though group bonds are strong. “Our strategies were largely focused on the improvement of our communication with one another. Right now, I think we’re all just working up for this weekend,” upper Ursie Wise said. “The field hockey team has such great energy. Love my ladies.”

Prep Eden Welch felt that the game gave the team a good morale boost. “I am really proud of our grit and determination, which allowed us to bring back the intensity in those last few minutes of the game,” she said. “This was a very good win for our team, and we will carry this momentum into E/a week!”

Catch the Big Red field hockey team this Saturday on Hatch Field at 12:00 p.m.

Catch the Big Red field hockey team this Saturday on Hatch Field at 12:00 p.m.