Mustangs Lose Season Opener in OT
In a nail-biter that went right down to the wire, the Lady Mustangs played valiantly and almost pulled out a major underdog victory, only to be denied in OT, as they lost to a strong Loomis squad 4-5. Helped in great part by an excellent pre-season playday at Greenwich Academy where the Mustangs played out their early season jitters, the team faced Loomis, their season opener, focused and ready to play.
Playing on Loomis' turf field on a warm day, conditions were ideal for field hockey. Loomis drew blood first, scoring about 10 minutes in (the scoreboard was not functioning during the game) on a neat cross from right wing that was tipped in. Millbrook answered right back as wing Fitzpatrick passed to midfielder Burdis who slipped it ahead to speedy forward Fallon for a quick tip-in. The game went end to end, Loomis notching more shots and, fortunately, missing the cage on a few key shots. However, Nelson in goal for Millbrook also made 4 outstanding saves for the Mustangs in the first half. With 8:30 left, fiesty Steele-Norton took the ball all the way down left wing, caught Loomis' defense napping, and tapped the ball past the astonished Loomis goalie. With time running down, Loomis had two corners which our stalwart backs Small, Fracchia, Lavitt and Chapman, with goalie Nelson, had to fight off, and Millbrook held the lead 2-1 as the half ended.
The Mustangs came out flat in the second half. Loomis scored almost right away on a well-executed corner hit. We didn't play well for about ten minutes, which could have had disastrous consequences against a team as skilled and deep as Loomis, but again, our defense held and Nelson notched three more saves. Chapman also made one goal line save that helped keep morale up. Then Steele-Norton started a spark that ignited the entire team. At 16:50 we came alive. Steele-Norton and Fallon tag-teamed the Loomis ball handlers causing turnover after turnover. Fitzpatrick made some key runs down right wing as Burdis, Whalen, and Chapman started to hold the midfield.
Fitzpatrick would score goal #3 from the right post, giving Millbrook 3-2 lead. But Loomis surged right back and scored on another penalty corner, tying the score 3-3 with about 8 minutes left to play. Two minutes later, they scored again on a fine cross from right wing. With about six minutes to play, Millbrook was down a goal. In one heart-stopping moment, Fitzpatrick's sure goal tip-in hit the post! But we did earn a corner, only our second for the entire game. Injected by Steele-Norton to Burdis, who passed to Chapman who nailed a shot in the right corner, with two minutes left in regulation. Another heart-stopping moment as Loomis earned another penalty corner which they played out as time expired. Actually, Loomis played two corners with time expired and could have taken the game right there, but our mighty defense held once again.
Millbrook's OT 7v7 team consisted of Burdis, Chapman, Steele-Norton, Fallon, Fracchia, Small and Nelson in goal. Nelson made two outstanding saves and Small and Fracchia were fabulous in back, but Loomis prevailed, scoring off a scrum in front of goal, about 5 minutes into OT. What a strong first game for the lady Mustangs. Even though we did not prevail, this was a big moral victory as we scared the daylights out of Class A (large school) team we have never gotten closer to beating than 0-2.
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Playing on Loomis' turf field on a warm day, conditions were ideal for field hockey. Loomis drew blood first, scoring about 10 minutes in (the scoreboard was not functioning during the game) on a neat cross from right wing that was tipped in. Millbrook answered right back as wing Fitzpatrick passed to midfielder Burdis who slipped it ahead to speedy forward Fallon for a quick tip-in. The game went end to end, Loomis notching more shots and, fortunately, missing the cage on a few key shots. However, Nelson in goal for Millbrook also made 4 outstanding saves for the Mustangs in the first half. With 8:30 left, fiesty Steele-Norton took the ball all the way down left wing, caught Loomis' defense napping, and tapped the ball past the astonished Loomis goalie. With time running down, Loomis had two corners which our stalwart backs Small, Fracchia, Lavitt and Chapman, with goalie Nelson, had to fight off, and Millbrook held the lead 2-1 as the half ended.
The Mustangs came out flat in the second half. Loomis scored almost right away on a well-executed corner hit. We didn't play well for about ten minutes, which could have had disastrous consequences against a team as skilled and deep as Loomis, but again, our defense held and Nelson notched three more saves. Chapman also made one goal line save that helped keep morale up. Then Steele-Norton started a spark that ignited the entire team. At 16:50 we came alive. Steele-Norton and Fallon tag-teamed the Loomis ball handlers causing turnover after turnover. Fitzpatrick made some key runs down right wing as Burdis, Whalen, and Chapman started to hold the midfield.
Fitzpatrick would score goal #3 from the right post, giving Millbrook 3-2 lead. But Loomis surged right back and scored on another penalty corner, tying the score 3-3 with about 8 minutes left to play. Two minutes later, they scored again on a fine cross from right wing. With about six minutes to play, Millbrook was down a goal. In one heart-stopping moment, Fitzpatrick's sure goal tip-in hit the post! But we did earn a corner, only our second for the entire game. Injected by Steele-Norton to Burdis, who passed to Chapman who nailed a shot in the right corner, with two minutes left in regulation. Another heart-stopping moment as Loomis earned another penalty corner which they played out as time expired. Actually, Loomis played two corners with time expired and could have taken the game right there, but our mighty defense held once again.
Millbrook's OT 7v7 team consisted of Burdis, Chapman, Steele-Norton, Fallon, Fracchia, Small and Nelson in goal. Nelson made two outstanding saves and Small and Fracchia were fabulous in back, but Loomis prevailed, scoring off a scrum in front of goal, about 5 minutes into OT. What a strong first game for the lady Mustangs. Even though we did not prevail, this was a big moral victory as we scared the daylights out of Class A (large school) team we have never gotten closer to beating than 0-2.
