Coming off a 10-0 win against Louisville Sept. 24 and an overall record of 4-6-1, the field hockey team is working to clean up its game with a predominantly young team.
Though the game against Louisville was an easy victory, the squad often struggles to maintain leads, field hockey program head Erin Creznic said.
The team struggled to maintain its lead during its last matchup with Glendora, the team it will face again on Homecoming. The squad lost in overtime, even though it had carried a lead through most of the game. It was the first time most of the players had ever been in a varsity overtime.
“Half of our team is sophomores. We just have to go through the growing pains,” Creznic said. “We are just going to make a lot of young mistakes.”
Creznic said she is optimistic about the second half of the season. After seeing what the young team’s weaknesses and strengths were, she now knows what it needs to work on to become better.
Rejoining the team, Emma Wasserman ’16 has added a level of experience to the young squad. The forward was the squad’s top-scorer in her freshman and sophomore years, but managed the team during her junior year due to workload concerns.
“The field hockey community has always been friendly and welcoming,” Wasserman said. “The hard part for me is getting back in shape and relearning basic skills.”
The new addition of an old star player could be a little difficult initially for the girls who have never played on varsity until this year, Creznic said, but she knows they care about the team succeeding and will be happy to have her.
To prepare for the Homecoming matchup against Glendora, the girls will be working on their offense, including tipping skills, which means making sure that a shot towards the goal will actually make it in.
They’ve also been working on situations where the defenders are outnumbered by the opposition. Creznic said that the addition of fans and added pressure will drive the team to do better.
“It’s going to be our last home game before playoffs start,” Creznic said. “So I think they’re going to be fired up, and I think we will be ready.”
