Mustangs hang tough against strong Suffield team
Games like this one really show a team's character, and the Lady Mustangs proved they have character, guts, and grittiness, galore. With an ailing (and oh so frustrated!) co-captain Fracchia seated on the sidelines, we had to shuffle positions. Duhoski assumed Fracchia's left back role and performed superbly. Playing on Suffield's turf field, a glaring, strong, setting sun was actually an issue, hampering goal keeper Nelson and our defenders' vision for the first half. The team would come out sluggish and off-kilt for nearly 20 minutes as the play remained stolidly clumped on the left side, neither team finding the open space. The game went end to end, both teams having some offensive opportunities. Goalie Nelson made a great save blasting through several pounding Tigers to clear the ball from a dangerous scrum in front of goal at the 24:12 mark. Several minutes later, the Mustangs were lucky as the Suffield right wing launched a perfect cross and the ensuing deflection would go just wide of the net. Small and Lavitt posted strong halves and kept the Tigers to only two penalty corners. The score would remain 0-0.
Maybe it was the raisins or the Gatorade or Louise's barking, but the team threw off their sluggish mantle and started to play field hockey in the second half. We came out strong, opened with a very dangerous scrum in front of the Tiger goal as Burdis connected with Steele-Norton who crossed to Anthony who just missed the cage, but this combination would meet again and next time, would not come away empty handed. Fallon, in her inimitable style, out hustled every opponent in the midfield and kept our spark ignited with her exciting play. Merrill, Chapman and Whalen played solid midfield, running down balls, running tirelessly up and down the field. Chapman's through passes, hit with just the right amount of pace, connected with Steele-Norton up front providing some electric fast break moments that are becoming routine for speedy Lou. Anthony would score at the ten minute mark on a play begun by Burdis, pass to Steele-Norton who shot and Anthony would press the rebound to find the back of the cage.
We played smart for the closing ten minutes, still continuing to press on offense but also possessing the ball. At the 4 minute mark we almost notched a second goal and earned 4 penalty corners late but were unable to capitalize. In the closing minutes, the team kept the ball deep and wide, out of the danger zones as Suffield never quit. Good smart play to end the day. Well done Mustangs!
Back
Maybe it was the raisins or the Gatorade or Louise's barking, but the team threw off their sluggish mantle and started to play field hockey in the second half. We came out strong, opened with a very dangerous scrum in front of the Tiger goal as Burdis connected with Steele-Norton who crossed to Anthony who just missed the cage, but this combination would meet again and next time, would not come away empty handed. Fallon, in her inimitable style, out hustled every opponent in the midfield and kept our spark ignited with her exciting play. Merrill, Chapman and Whalen played solid midfield, running down balls, running tirelessly up and down the field. Chapman's through passes, hit with just the right amount of pace, connected with Steele-Norton up front providing some electric fast break moments that are becoming routine for speedy Lou. Anthony would score at the ten minute mark on a play begun by Burdis, pass to Steele-Norton who shot and Anthony would press the rebound to find the back of the cage.
We played smart for the closing ten minutes, still continuing to press on offense but also possessing the ball. At the 4 minute mark we almost notched a second goal and earned 4 penalty corners late but were unable to capitalize. In the closing minutes, the team kept the ball deep and wide, out of the danger zones as Suffield never quit. Good smart play to end the day. Well done Mustangs!
