FH

On a beautiful fall day the J.S. field hockey team drove to Branford M.S. for their first away game. The girls felt a little intimidated when the 33-strong Branford Hornets stampeded onto the field (we only had 12 players with us), but we coaches knew that subbing 33 players has its disadvantages! The forward line- Ashley Meng, Lily Sawyer-Kaplan, Kat Fedorchak and Meg Baumgartner marched the ball down the field with little resistance. We had several corners and lots of shots on goal. Lily received a pass from Kat and put the first ball in with less than 5 minutes on the clock. Then Branford put in a whole new team. We continued to dominate but near the end of the first half, Branford worked their way through our tough defense- anchored by the indefatigable Kate Bradley at center, Miela Mayer and Dani Gorton on the flanks. Branford did not have many shots on goal during the first half. But one wayward ball, which allegedly bounced of a Branford player’s hand, was lobbed into the goal and the score was tied. (Such a move, called advancing, is not a legal move; but there was only one referee at the game and it is impossible to see everything at all times.) Our girls fought right back and Kat put the second and winning goal into the net half way through the second half. (a rebound off the goalie's pads!) Meg at right wing centered the ball nicely during the game. She also showed her “scrappy “side and fought back when the ball got past her. Ashley perfected her sweep and centered the ball from the left side as well. Dani switched with Sara Seymour (tenacious and agressive) at back so she could catch her breath. The midfield got quite a workout that day. Kate, Dani and Miela played a superb game and passed well up to the forward line! And later we moved Genna Martin at right back up to the front line so she could see some action. Genna has a solid drive and moves the ball quickly and decisively. Melanie Daifotis at center back commands the back field; and with her 40 yard drive, she intimidates her opponents time and time again. Cadence Miskimin, goalie extraordinaire, was rarely challenged in goal, but she enjoyed coming out of the net to tackle the ball in the striking circle. Anna Kyrcz played all three lines and looked very good at offense; she too has a solid drive. Although the final score was Hopkins 2 Branford 1, Hopkins dominated the entire game. Our stick work is very good and we played our positions and supported one another instinctively. This is a good team! We may be small in numbers but we are mighty!

Next up: Renbook A-team in W. Hartford. We hope to return back to Hopkins around 6- probably after the late bus. We will call from the road when we can better guestimate the arrival at Hopkins.

MARK your calendars for the Bement Play Day. We leave Hopkins Sat Oct 25 at 7:00 am and return home around 6:30 pm. The girls will combine with the Bement B team to play 6 mini games. Each girl should bring a bagged lunch and $15.00 to buy the Bement Play Day t-shirt. Parents are welcome to come watch us play and feed us at snacks. Bement is located in Historic Deerfield, right off 91, only a two hour drive from New Haven.:)  Go Hop!