Today: Mar 28, 2024

Field hockey loses first home game

Hunter O. LyleSports Editor

The field hockey team played NE10 matchup American International College for their home opener, losing 4-0 in a closely fought game that quickly slipped through the Owl’s hands.

Coming into this game having lost their two previous matchups, head coach Kelley Frassinelli said the team’s main struggle early in the season is playing together.

“We talk about a lot of lack of communication that’s happening,” said Frassinelli. “It was a very crowded game, I’m going to say; AIC plays a very tight game. For us, we practice getting into those spaces and trying to really find those good touches, and I think sometimes we get a little lost in that without having that good communication around us.”

The game started off slow for both teams. The Owls and the Yellowjackets stretched their legs on offense but failed to capitalize close to the goal.

With less than three minutes left in the second quarter, AIC eventually broke the stalemate off a rebound near the crease.

After the halftime break, the Yellowjackets came out aggressive and started to pull away. AIC had a total of three shots on goal in total for the third quarter, one of which went in, whereas Southern came out flat, tallying zero shots.

Goalkeeper Brianna Craft, a senior and new team captain, said AIC overwhelmed the defense throughout the game.

“We had the ball in our circle a lot, so we were working on marking the most dangerous player, and it turned into numbers up in our circle,” said Craft. “We were doing lots of work to find the most dangerous spot to stop that ball. I think we did a really good job of getting it out most of the time, but there were a couple times where they just outnumbered us.”

A new factor has been added to the game this year: a rule-change during the offseason now allows for the game to be played in 15-minute quarters rather than just two 30-minute halves. This change was something Craft said the team was “dying for.”
“I think [the rulechange] helps us a lot because we can regroup on that two-minute break we have in between the 15 [minutes of play],” said Craft. “Sometimes we get let down by fatigue, or not even fatigue, but our mental state. So, we get that two minutes to regroup, talk, and we can go back on the field fresh.”

Despite the extra resting time, Southern seemed to be tired on both offense and defense for the rest of the game. AIC scored twice more in the final quarter, sealing the Yellowjacket victory.

Forward Jessica Maier, a junior, said the team needs to come together for the rest of the season.

“I think we started to play an individual game, so I think if we are able to work better as a team [we would be more successful],” said Maier. “Our word for this season is ‘united,’ so we just have to continue to do that together and play that way.” said Bivona.

“It’s the small things that we have to fix and next week we’re going to come out, fix those and get the [win].”

The field hockey team went on to play fellow NE10 matchup Stonehill College on Wednesday, Sept. 11, losing 5-1, and will face American International College again on Tuesday.

Frassinelli said the team looks forward to their upcoming games, and sees them all as future victories.

“We are looking forward to every game,” said Frassinelli. “Every game is a new game, and there’s challenges. Certainly, they’re winnable games,but it’s a matter of who’s got the strength.”

Photo credit: SOUTHERNCTOWLS.COM

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

Latest from Blog

Don't Miss

Football team wins second game in a row

Ben Martin – Sports Writer The university football team is took on the

My Mind & Me Documentary starts up conversations 

Sarah Shelton – Photo Editor  One of the biggest role models in my