Field hockey, as most everyone knows, is one of the most successful teams at our school.
Field hockey, as most everyone knows, usually goes undefeated for a good part of the season before succumbing to their first loss.
Field hockey, as most everyone knows, is a fast-paced sport, with so many stoppages for minor fouls, that the grand majority of fans don’t completely understand all (or any) of them.
So, once MLWGS’ field hockey team hit a two-game losing streak, people started to dismiss them – that they weren’t as good as previous years, that they didn’t have as much talent, or that they didn’t have as much offense.
Field hockey showed them.
Following a disappointing 3-0 loss to Thomas Dale, they regrouped, and won an enticing 1-0 game at home versus Monacan that even went into overtime.
A scoreless game throughout, a big crowd near Monacan’s goal ended up with Amanda Watson (’09) scoring the winning goal.
“We played with a lot of intensity because we didn’t want to lose, but we also wanted to prove to everyone that we still are one of the top teams in the region,” Kelsey Huffer (’09) said. “Even though we had to go into overtime, the win still helped us bring up our spirits and morale after two losses.”
After that close win, Maggie Walker played Mills Godwin at home on Wednesday night. It was a battle between two top-10 teams. The #4-ranked Green Dragons and the #6-ranked Eagles. Godwin was 4-1 on the season, while Maggie Walker was a game over .500, at 3-2.
The game was close, the score was closer, and the end result was a win. Battling for position and possession throughout, Maggie Walker came with the scoring first, with Huffer establishing an early 1-0 lead, the same score that would end the first half.
Fortifying their lead, Maggie Walker had a beautiful cross from Deirdre Gill (’09) to Cassie Turnage (’11) for a score, increasing their lead to two scores.
Seeming increasingly unlikely to lose, the game was going well. Another shutout seemed on its way. But teams aren’t ranked top 10 in the region for no reason. Godwin came back to score with a little over five minutes left in the game, but the Green Dragons were able to hold on.
“There were a couple times Godwin almost had fast breaks, and we played really good defense. Since we haven’t been able to score as much as we have in past seasons, we’ve had to rely even more on our defense to prevent other teams from scoring,” Huffer said. “The defense has been even more important than in years past because they help keep us in the game.”
Now comes an even bigger task in the form of Manchester on Friday. Facing the team that beat them in double overtime by one goal, the Green Dragons want some payback. On top of that, Manchester is the team that broke our winning streak last year, resulting in our only regular season loss.
“Were going to come out with full intensity wanting to win, and we’ll see what happens,” Kelsey Sawyer (’09) said.
To add even more to the atmosphere, this is going to be a Green Machine game. Anticipated to be the largest field hockey turnout by Green Machine ever, the excitement is in the air. Thus far this year, Green Machine has shown up to four games – one Varsity Boys Volleyball game, one Varsity Girls Volleyball game, and two Varsity Field Hockey games.
Maggie Walker’s record in those games? 4-0.
As Ese Shaw (’10), one of the leaders of Green Machine, put it, “when Green Machine shows, Walker wins!”
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