After a hiatus due to turf damage from Hurricane Irene, the Rye field hockey team finally played their first game in two weeks October 3. The game, at home in drizzly conditions against Briarcliff, was originally scheduled as the season-opener.

 

By Melanie Cane

 

After a hiatus due to turf damage from Hurricane Irene, the Rye field hockey team finally played their first game in two weeks October 3. The game, at home in drizzly conditions against Briarcliff, was originally scheduled as the season-opener.

 

The Garnets wasted no time in dominating the field, with senior Annie VanWagenen scoring from the corner on an assist by Alex Burnett in the first 1:30 of play. The rout was on, and Rye came away 7-0 victors and improved to 4-0-1.

VanWagenen scored two more goals in the next eight minutes. Her second, also a corner, was on an assist from senior Katie Killip. The third, from the right side of the circle, was assisted by Tori Virtue. Senior Emma Brinkman scored two goals in the last five minutes of the half (the second was a one-on-one with the goalie), making it a 5-0 game going into the break.

 

In the second half, Brinkman added another goal in the first five minutes on an assist from Claire O’Callaghan. Abby Regan netted Rye’s final goal with two minutes left in the game on an assist from Maddie Bianchi.

 

Their win, the first of 12 games in 23 days, was huge. Rye coach Emily Fitzgerald emphasized that it was imperative from a momentum point of view that her team started this stretch with a win.

 

“We came out with a lot of energy and scored in the first minute and a half,” said the coach. “We seemed to feed off that for the rest of the game. We’ve been working hard in practice and it showed today.”