RUMFORD – The young Mountain Valley field hockey team has experienced some growing pains, but it certainly started the second half of the season on a high note.
The Falcons’ Sara Martin converted a crossing pass with nine minutes and 18 seconds left for the lone score in a 1-0 win over Hall-Dale at Hosmer Field on Wednesday.
Although the game lacked any offensive exploding, Falcon defenders Jenni Hamann and Kristen Chenard definitely made up for any shortcomings.
Class B Mountain Valley (5-4) has only two seniors and won two games in 2004, but the Falcons’ playoff aspirations remain alive.
“We knew the team really needed to win today,” said Hamann, who celebrated her 18th birthday. “Especially after the Dirigo game (2-1 loss). This really boosted our confidence.”
Mountain Valley came alive in the second half, but it required a strategic timeout to set the record straight. When play resumed, the Falcons pushed the ball into the circle. Breanna Broomhall slid a pass over to Martin who was rushing in on the left side. The freshman drilled a shot past Bulldog goalie Alyssa Whittie (seven saves).
“I’m just glad I was able to score,” Martin said. “The team really needed to win.”
Class C Hall-Dale (5-4) started out the game by pressing the issue. Center forward Katie Bell was unable to get the ball past the Falcon defense and goalie Kim Clark made four saves. The Bulldogs were limited to seven shots and five penalty corners.
“For the first 20 minutes we controlled play,” Hall-Dale coach Ellen Vickers said. “I think we thought they were going to hand it to us, but (Mountain Valley) didn’t. We tried to push the ball outside and not overload either side of the field.”
In a three-minute span, the Falcons had three penalty corners and received shots by Stephanie Beadle, Katlin Drury and Sami Gagnon. They also shuffled players in and out to maintain fresh legs.
Mountain Valley took 15 shots and had 10 corners.
“The kids are becoming more aggressive,” Mountain Valley coach Melissa Forbes said. “In practice, we separated the groups and focused the offense at going to the post. Defensively, Chenard and Hamann are stepping up and hitting the ball outside, as opposed to backing up, plus Drury is rotating back to help out.”
Comments are no longer available on this story