Congratulations to the SJU field hockey team
for pulling off a big win this afternoon! The team had a long week of
practice to prepare for today's game against Penn. The win was much
anticipated after a rough start to the season. There were many emotions
going into today's game. Last season was a very controversial game in
which we lost in overtime to our local rivals. We started the week of
practice knowing we wanted to get revenge.
After reviewing our past
games, we realized we had a lot to work on before our next match. In
practice this week, we focused on 2-v-1 drills to help us work on our
ball movement and cuts off the ball. In addition, the defense worked on
perfecting defensive corners. This was showcased during the game in
which Penn had several corners and didn't capitalize on any. Great job,
defense! Offensively, we worked on tracking the ball toward our
defenders before laying a pass to a teammate and penetrating the circle
as soon as we pass our offensive 25-yard-line. Once in the circle, we
practiced taking quick shots on the cage and being prepared to receive the
rebounds. Our mindset coming into today's game was to have a positive
attitude and believe in each other. We were confident we could apply
all of the skills we worked on during training this week and come out
on top.
One
of our goals was to score first in an attempt to shake the other team
and get ahead quickly. We succeeded in doing so, capitalizing on our
first corner off of a precise stick stop by Rachel Walsh and a
beautiful sweep from Theresa Testa back to me at the insert. The Hawks
didn't stop here. We continued with the momentum by scoring on another
corner with a sweep from Testa and tip into the cage by Jordan Martin. It was 2-0 Hawks
going into the second half. We were all excited to be in the lead, but
we knew it wasn't enough. We knew Penn would fight to the end so we
couldn't let up. Ashlee Willis had a nice reverse sweep into the cage
to make the score 3-0 SJU with only a few minutes remaining in the
half. Unfortunately, Penn counterattacked, adding one goal to make the
final score 3-1 Hawks. Liz Messaros and the defense played a great
game, holding off several shot attempts by our opponents.
Overall, it
was a great team effort by all and I am proud of everyone! Let's keep
this momentum going into the rest of the season, as we get ready to
take on Lehigh next weekend! Keep working hard and believing in each
other. Good job girls!
-Ellen
