Wildcats Tie Hackley in Overtime Thriller

By Mitch Silver

On the first cold, blustery day of fall, October 18, the Rye Country Day Field Hockey team took the field against the visiting squad from Hackley. The Wildcats sported a 4-3 record but played most of the first half defending their own territory. Hackley earned four penalty corners in the first quarter, though they were unable to get a solid scoring chance off any of them.

The tide turned early in the second period when Rye Country Day achieved four quick corners of their own. The fourth led to junior midfielder Zizi Hart winding up with the ball in front of the cage. She put her shot home at 11:35 to give the Wildcats an 1-0 lead.

Eight minutes later, Hackley capped a series of corners with a sharp crossing pass from Phoebe Naughton that found Gabi Kapapoutis for the goal that evened the game once again. The teams went into the half tied.

The score stayed knotted up in the second half, though the Wildcats had more of the possession in Hackley’s territory. A few more corners gave Rye a couple of half chances. The fourth quarter featured surges back and forth, with Hackley sending long passes upfield that just failed to connect.

The weather got even colder, and the wind picked up as the sun went down. The teams played overtime, but neither side could put the ball in the cage. For the game, both Wildcat keeper Makayla Blake and Hornet keeper Leighton Avery had four saves.