JV and Varsity Games against Norfolk Collegiate!

Yesterday, both JV and Varsity played against Norfolk Collegiate School. Here is how it all went down!

The Varsity Gators were pumped to play yesterday on their home field! In warm ups, I knew it was going to be a good game. Every player's shots on goal were dead on, and our short corner plays looked awesome! Senior Captain, Harlan ('11), was back in her first game of the season since her injury, and the Gators were glad to know she would have their backs in defense! When Norfolk Collegiate finally arrived, all the players set up on the field. The entire game was back and forth across the field. Norfolk had a good transferring midfield and some strong fastbreakers. As usual, our defenders Budi ('12), Budi ('13), Curtin ('11), and Harlan ('11), kept our goalie from getting too many shots on goal. Budi ('12) and Harlan ('11) worked together even better than last season! Wyatt ('11), our goalie, is new for the season, but to watch her in a game, you would never know! For the last few years, she has been out with an injury, and has been our manager. This season she was healthy, and we are certainly glad we tried her out in goal! After last night, she has a total of 40 saves in just 3 games! Our midfielders really pushed forward last night and were able to get back to help out defense too! Caudill ('12), Puccinelli ('13), and Wolpert ('13) were relentless in the very difficult and exhausting job of midfield. Caudill ('12) in particular, had a lot of action on the left side and was able to stop them dead in their tracks. In offense, senior captain Albright ('11), Curtin ('12), and Phipps ('12) had several shots on goal! Curtin ('12) and Puccinelli ('13) brought the ball up from center field several times all the way to their 16 circle to make Norfolk cause a short corner! Albright ('11) has such a strong shot on goal, their defense did not even want to come to close! Twice Puccinelli ('13), Curtin ('12), Albright ('11), and Caudill ('12), pushed the ball into the goal, but each time it was denied due to a delayed whistle and malfunctioning of the goalie's equipment. The game ended in a 0-0 tie, but it wasn't over yet! We went into a 10 minute round of 7v7 over time! We almost scored and they almost scored, but after 10 minutes, it was still a 0-0 tie! We went into a final round of 5v5 strokes. Our five strokers were Curtin ('12), Albright ('11), Caudill ('12), Budi ('13), and Puchalski ('13). Wyatt ('11) did a fantastic job of blocking Norfolk's strokes! After strokes were over, the game ended with a 0-0 tie! The Varsity record is currently 1-1-1! They travel to DC this weekend for the Fragile X Classic Tournament held at St. John's College High School!

The JV Game was next, but because Norfolk was late getting to our field, they wanted to cut the JV game short. We ended up playing two 15 minute halves. The JV Gators looked very strong! Sophomore Captain, Moore ('13), Spicer ('14), and L. Gregory ('14) pushed the ball upfield and had several shots on goal. Our defensive stars of the game were M. Gregory ('14), Morgan ('14), and Sophomore Captain, Aiken ('13). They kept the ball away from our goalie, Sophomore Captain, McDonald ('13), in her first season as goalie. McDonald ('13) currently has 15 saves to her credit in four 30 minute games. Graham ('13) had a nice run up the field and shot towards goal, Spicer ('14) went in for the cherry pick, but the Norfolk JV goalie kicked it out. Veillette ('14) also had a nice fast break up the field, but again, the Norfolk defense was on their toes. All of JV fought hard to get a win, but the game ended in a 0-0 tie. Certainly not a bad result for team made up of only 9 experienced players, and 14 players who picked up a stick less than a month ago! With another week of honing their stick skills, getting to know each other, and improving their conditioning, I know that this team will be impossible to beat! The JV record is currently 0-2-2. They are looking for their first win in their next game! I have no doubts that they will make it happen!