RHS Field Hockey

Tenacity Not Enough Against Mighty Scarsdale

By Melanie Cane

Adjusting to a new coach is difficult. Add to that a freshman goalie, a missing senior captain, and a ruthless opponent, and you have a formula for a tough game. These were the circumstances facing the Garnets in their 9-1 loss to Scarsdale at home October 22.

The Raiders’ first shot hit the post a minute into the game. Rye got the rebound off the post, but Scarsdale stole the ball on transition and shot again. Garnet goalie Megan Ferris made a kicking save and Rye started to transition. Scarsdale intercepted the pass again and scored at 25:13 on a scramble in front of the net. Ferris was injured on the goal and play was suspended for five minutes.

When play resumed, Scarsdale stole the ball off Rye’s midfield start and scored again. A minute later, the Garnets moved the ball to their goal for the first time but passed out of bounds. Scarsdale scored off a corner penalty on their next possession to take a 3-0 lead.

After a few minutes of back and forth on Scarsdale’s side, they scored off another corner. Rye’s Hanke Govaert’s shot went into the cage, but it did not count because she hit it from outside the circle and no other player touched the ball. Scarsdale scored off a corner play on their next possession, followed with a goal on a shot from the top of the circle and, scoring yet again off a corner play, took a 7-0 lead into halftime.

The Garnets regrouped and hit the field ready to compete, earning five consecutive corner plays but could not convert. At 23:44, Ellie Hedges, who had been pulled up from JV the day before, crossed to Govaert who found the back of the cage. This time it counted.

After several minutes of back and forth, Scarsdale scored again. Rye fought back, earning a couple of corner penalties, but Scarsdale scored another goal in the last minute of the game for the 9-1 win.

Coach Lindsey Ferris acknowledged her team was short on effort in the first half. “We were walking, not hustling. We missed the leadership and drive of KJ Langer, but captain Caitlin Antinozzi did a great job pushing the girls to do their best. Going forward we hope to continue our momentum and not just be a second-half team.”

About the team’s Antonizzi is optimistic about the team’s future. “After some confidence building at halftime, we came out playing our game and the girls really stepped it up. Casey Lehman and Kate Stevens did a great job at midfield throwing themselves in front of the ball. Ellie Hedges made an amazing transition from JV to Varsity and our defense made some big stops on the line.”

Kate Stevens on one knee blocking the ball.

Hanke Govaert moving the ball towards goal.

Caitlin Antonizzi intercepting a pass.