Phoenix sophomore Emily Castonguay slips the ball past Hall-Dale goalie Kaylee Magee in the second half of a field hockey game in Jay on Tuesday.

JAY — It was the type of victory where the entire Spruce Mountain team got into the act and an opportunity for players to hone their skills for the postseason

The Phoenix (9-4) had command of the field from the outset and brushed aside Hall-Dale (3-10) with a 5-0 victory in a field hockey game Monday afternoon,

“This (win) just helps us build toward tournaments,” Spruce Mountain co-coach Jane Dipompo said. “We want to go in as strong as we can be and we want to be tournament ready for the first minute of the tournament game.

“We need to build for that. Today was a day that everybody got a chance to get out there and show what they’ve got. So everybody got a chance to shine today.

“We keep harping on them that every player has to get better with every game and every practice and we have to get better as individuals and as a team.”

After nearly 12 minutes of scoring chances passing the the frustrated Phoenix by, senior Emily Goding slapped in back-to-back goals, with Emily Castonguay getting an assist on the second goal.

“We moved people around for senior day game,” Spruce Mountain co-coach Julia Parker. “So we got all the seniors in starting both halves and that was nice to see and all the girls adjusted and going to different positions.”

Spruce’s offense came alive after Castonguay’s double-barrel goals.

Freshman Aurianna Armandi gave the Phoenix a three-goal lead when she scored an unassisted goal at 9:54 in the first half.

The second half was a repeat of the first.

Senior co-captain Alexis Beardsley scored Spruce Mountain’s fourth goal without assistance in the second half. Junior Brooke Buote followed with her goal, with an assist going to Armandi.

“One of our strategies for today was to play defensively because we know they are such a strong team,” Hall-Dale coach Angela Corbin said. “We didn’t want to get the score wracked up against us.

“We were playing a little defensively, which meant we didn’t have scoring opportunities. We didn’t have the numbers up there.

“(Center midfielder) Jill Whynot played her heart out today. She is consistently strong. We just had some breakdowns that we couldn’t recover from.”

Spruce Mountain goalie Sydney Shaffer makes a kick save in a field hockey game against Hall-Dale in Jay on Tuesday.

Spruce Mountain senior captain Alexis Beardsley (9) takes a shot and scored a goal as Hall-Dale’s Maddy Merrill (13) and the Phoenix sophomore Emily Castonguay looks on in the second half of a field hockey game in Jay on Tuesday.

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