Field hockey shuts out St. Paul’s in quarterfinals
Varsity field hockey took down St. Paul’s in the first round of their playoffs 2-0. “Today we played completely as a team and we felt the most comfortable than we have ever been,” senior center back defenseman Claire Pika said.
Pika credits the team coming out of the gate hard and playing consistently as contributing to the win against St. Paul’s.
“They didn’t have any mental lapses, they really understood the game plan and stuck with it the entire 60 minutes, which is a long time, and I’m really proud of them,” head coach Alice Puckett said.
JC played offense the majority of the first half, but after 28 minutes they remained scoreless, despite having chances to capitalize by scoring on St. Paul’s. However, with only two minutes left in the first half, freshman left wing Ellie Bruggeman scored to make it 1-0 going into the second half.
“[Puckett] wanted us to score first, so once we did, we knew the only thing we had to do was pick up the intensity,” Pika said.
Freshman left defenseman Kate Gromacki credits the communication and teamwork for leading to the win. “We played really well today and we really played as a team. Our passing was on point and we communicated very well,” Gromacki said.
After the first half, the team continued with an aggressive game plan, getting multiple opportunities on offense. The team eventually scored to further the gap to 2-0 with only 12 minutes left in the game. According to Pika, after the second goal, she had confidence they were going to win.
The field hockey team will play Mount de Sales in the semi-finals on Wednesday, Nov. 2. The Patriots defeated Mount de Sales, 3-0, during the regular season on Oct. 4.
JC looks to build off a 7-1 conference record and their previous back-to-back championship seasons. “I felt that we have a lot of energy because of what’s at stake, so I think we’ll have a really good chance [against Mount de Sales],” Gromacki said.
Grant Sharretts is the Online Chief for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.