The Stow-Munroe Falls Field Hockey team traveled to Rocky River on Monday night to begin their season against perennial power Magnificat. The Bulldogs started slowly in the face of a strong Blue Streak attack and fell behind early. Following a prolonged battle in front of the Stow goal, Elizabeth Michael scored the first goal of the night for Magnificat. Later in the first half, Michael assisted fellow Junior Emma Gallagher to give the home team a 2-0 advantage at halftime. Over the remainder of the first half, Magnificat dominated play, posting a 8-0 advantage in penalty corners. Only an inspired effort by the Stow defense, led by Seniors Kendall Lang and Ali George as well as Juniors Kerry Bukowsky, Jordan Tilghman, and Caitlin Crosier prevented the game from getting out of hand.
The Bulldogs recovered their composure and played a much more competitive second half. In the midfield, Senior Gina Bonfiglio and Sophomore Taylor Dohar, who had been contributing primarily to the defensive effort in the first half, began to transition the ball effectively. Stow pressured the Magnificat defense, and drew their first corner of the season. Sam Hazelbaker used her powerful swing to drive the ball but the Magnificat goalkeeper managed to deflect it away from the goal.
Forward Brooke Mariola advanced the ball to the offensive zone on several nifty runs through the Magnificat defense. Stephanie Shafer and Courtney Peters also began attacking to win the balll from their opponents. The offensive surge balanced out the second half in terms of penalty corner opportunities as Stow posted a 2-1 advantage. Junior Forwards Jess Foraker and Holly Lowry looked for opportunites to push the ball into the goal but were thwarted by excellent back end defense.
Although Stow failed to score, the second half performance gave first-year coach Kelly Given reason for optimism, "The team competed with Magnificat during the second half. We had some great passing combinations and were able to work the ball around the field. Our forwards had a few great breakaways down the field. Although the score was 0-5, I believe that score does not reflect how well the team played in the second half of the game."
Magnificat made the most of their limited transitions to the offensive end, adding one goal early in the half and two more late in the period to secure a convincing 5-0 victory.
Senior Lauren Dunmire suffered the loss in goal for the Bulldogs.
The Junior Varisty also lost by a score of 4-0, but the coaches saw many positives in the performance. Coach Given commented, "Overall, Kristen and I think the JV team played very well, considering it was the first time 7 of the starting players have ever played a real game! They moved the ball around the field very well and had great passing."
Stow will look for their first win on the young season as they face Laurel School on Thursday at home.
8/28/10 Stow vs Ottawa Hills Play Day (N/A)
Team Bonding Highlights Play Day
The Stow-Munroe Falls Girls Field Hockey team spent a weekend in Toledo for team bonding and scrimmaging against high-level competition. The Bulldogs held their own, but struggled to score against elite teams from Michigan and NW Ohio. But the team had an opportunity to come together and learn. This will help to spingboard them to the new season.
