Field Hockey: G-NG succumbs to Poland in OT

GRAY—The Patriots went up 1-0 early vs. visiting Poland on Thursday, Oct. 3 – Cady Kluck did the honors – but they couldn’t hold on for a W. The Knights evened things up in the second, and triumphed over G-NG in overtime. 2-1 the result.

Outcome aside, Patriots head coach Christa Roddy was proud of her girls’ collective performance. “I feel like this was one of our top games,” Roddy said. “That’s really cliché, but I feel like everyone was really on top of it.”

Roddy applauded a handful of her players. “Trizzie Ha, she’s a fantastic ball-carrier. Madelyn Cote, out of our back, she’ll get those carries up our field. That builds momentum for the team, when we see those really good plays. They’re both pretty phenomenal forces on the field because they also motivate others to step up and do what they’re supposed to do.”

Cady Kluck had the Patriots’ lone goal. Adam Birt / Lakes Region Weekly

G-NG looked remarkably solid on defense. Poland often pinned the Patriots in their half of the midfield, or high in their zone. But the Knights couldn’t generate many shots, thanks to G-NG’s efforts defending.

“They’re pretty phenomenal,” Roddy said of her d. “It’s hard to always have that pressure there. We’re in that zone a lot. That’s something we talk about a lot in practice: how to force pressure up the field, and how to maybe maintain the ball at our offensive 25, instead of being pinned back.

“That’s really our focus, is trying to build our transition, strengthen it, work on some ways to move the ball up field and, like I said, try to maintain offensive pressure.”

Kluck scored for the Patriots during one of their brief attacking forays, relaying home a Jasmine French feed out of a scramble.

“We’re definitely trying to get hungry in the circle, and Katie’s a girl who’s hungry in the circle,” Roddy said. “She will keep her eye on the ball, get her stick on the ball and get it in the cage no matter what it looks like. Obviously I would love the shots from the top of the circle to go right in, and not have to fight for those goals, but she’s a good girl to have in that spot, because she doesn’t give up.

“We have a couple girls that are hungry for it, that want to get those shots at the top. And when they get there, they’re ready to do it. It’s just getting them there, keeping them there and them being comfortable.”

Kluck’s struck with 24:07 to play in the first half – she struck, as mentioned, on a stab upfield. Still, despite frequently corralling G-NG in their end, the Knights struggled to create quality chances; their first close pressure came more than halfway through the first half.

Jasmine French played a solid game in the midfield and on the attack. Adam Birt / Lakes Region Weekly

Poland logged one corner attempt with 14 minutes to play before the break, another with 12 minutes to go and a third at 11:30. Knight Olivia Bell actually blasted the ball into the back of the Patriots’ cage on that last try, but she did so from too far out and the nearest official waved off the point.

“The girls have so much time there,” Roddy said of the area around G-NG’s defensive 25, “that they’ve gotten really good. They’re really confident and comfortable there. Kassidy Plummer, Makenna Powell and Mack Baston, back with Madelyn, they do so well.” Baston is the team’s keeper.

Roddy continued: “It’s kind of a Catch-22: We want them to be good and comfortable on defense, but we also want to get opportunities up the field a little more.”

“Our forwards, we’ve got a lot of them that are really flexible and moving in different spots,” Roddy said. “Jasmine, who played some in center, was really great. I could pull off and give her some feedback, and she jumped back on and implemented it right away.”

The Patriots pushed into Poland’s zone and managed to settle in, attacking, late in the first half. They even earned a corner around 4:30, though they failed to convert.

Just about 11 and a half minutes into the second half, the Knights finally found their way onto the board: Emma Moreau, at the left side of Baston’s cage, chopped home a redirect for 1-1.

Kassidy Plummer works the ball. Adam Birt / Lakes Region Weekly

Nine minutes later, G-NG nearly – nearly, but not quite – jumped out front again, layering heavy pressure on Poland netminder Ashton Sturtevant.

Baston turned in a quality save with four minutes to go. The Patriots’ defense then fended off four Poland corners in the last three minutes (give or take), with Baston recording a fantastic pad save in the waning seconds.

G-NG attacked ferociously to begin OT1, but the Knights got the last laugh: Halfway through the stretch, Autumn Willis broke away from the pack and earned a one-on-one with Baston, charging out of the net. Willis won the duel – and a sudden-death triumph for her girls.

“Yeah,” Roddy said, asked if the goalie should step out on a one-on-one. “We don’t want to risk [the other girl] going up with the ball, so we want to try to get there first and clear the ball before she gets a chance to get it up in the corners. Mack’s been a little hesitant, so to see her go out and go for it, it was what we wanted her to do. And you win some, you lose some.”

G-NG fell to 3-6 following the defeat. The Patriots faced off with Wells on Tuesday, Oct. 8; they host Fryeburg a day later.