If the contest between Holy Child and Rye Country Day September 15 was any indication of what the teams have in store for the postseason, then field hockey fans could very well be in for a treat as in past years. The local rivals, who have won four of the last five NYSAIS championships and met in the finals three times, battled to a 3-3 draw at Gryphon Field in a back-and-forth affair.

 

By Jim Byrne

If the contest between Holy Child and Rye Country Day September 15 was any indication of what the teams have in store for the postseason, then field hockey fans could very well be in for a treat as in past years. The local rivals, who have won four of the last five NYSAIS championships and met in the finals three times, battled to a 3-3 draw at Gryphon Field in a back-and-forth affair.

 

The Wildcats, who never led, appeared to win the game at the end of the 10-minute overtime period, but their shot went in just after the final whistle sounded. Holy Child’s senior goalkeeper, Paige Kennedy, fought off several RCDS scoring opportunities in OT, and was congratulated by her teammates after.

 

“Paige gives direction on the field that helps our defense get the ball out of the circle,” said sophomore Mary Murphy. “With the amount of saves she has, the whole team is confident having her back there and we know she is the best person for the job. Everyone was nervous during the 7-on-7 overtime, but we knew Paige could handle the pressure.”

 

Mary Murphy, the sister of senior co-captain Jillian, played perhaps her best game as a Gryphon. The score was knotted 1-1 entering the second half, but Murphy broke the tie three minutes in off a Liz McCooey break. After Rye Country Day freshman Mariana Lee tied the game, Murphy came up big once again with her second goal of the game on an assist from her big sister.

 

“Hearing my team and the crowd cheering after each goal was an amazing experience,” said Murphy. “When I came off the field at the end of the game a few people came up to me and said it was fun to watch me and my sister work together. One fan actually called us the ‘unstoppable Murphys’; I like to think that Holy Child can be an unstoppable team.”

 

Eve Wulf, a junior midfielder, saved the day for the Wildcats when she scored with under four minutes remaining in regulation. Clare McClintock was also a factor, and seemed to be everywhere on the field – spearheading her offense and stymieing the Gryphons’ passing game. Head coach Georgette Summers was pleased with the team’s effort, but wants to see her Wildcats work through the up-and-down nature of the early season.

 

“We have to play as a unit for 60 – or in the case of Thursday – 70 minutes,” said Summers. “We need to be consistent and the girls need to trust each other. All eight of our seniors, a very experienced group, are starters, but then we have a very inexperienced, albeit talented, group. It will take time to trust, blend, and gel.”