Sixty minutes of regulation wasn’t enough time for either of the Mt. Ararat or Cony high school field hockey teams to score.
Kami Lambert grabbed the ball from a penalty corner, driving it home for the game- winner to lift the Rams to a 1-0 victory in a Class A North quarterfinal game.
Taking their second penalty corner of the extra frame, the Rams were finally able to break the Eagles’ suffocating defense when Julia Reny fed Lambert off the corner. The junior’s shot from 10-yards out ricochet off goalie Lily Schenk, bouncing off the left post for the game-winner.
“Mt. Ararat came ready to play and right off the bat, we knew it was going to be a tough game,” said Cony coach Holly Daigle.
The Rams missed an opportunity to score with under 40 seconds left in the opening half. Lambert dished a pass off to Sydney Whitney, but her shot went wide of the net for the miss.
The first 30 minutes produced four Cony shots on goal and three from Mt. Ararat. The Rams held a 5- 1 advantage in corners.
“ They have some hard hitters, and they’re really fast,” said Mt. Ararat coach Krista Chase “ We were prepared for that. We wanted to limit their breakaways and I think we did that today.”
In the second half, Cony turned the tables on Mt. Ararat, executing its defensive strategies. The Rams didn’t allow a shot in the second half.
Despite not generating any offense, the Eagles remained true to the game plan they have been working on the past several practices.
“We worked on the little fundamental things,” said Chase, who both coached and played for Cony. “All the things we worked on Monday in practice were the things that got us nine wins this year.”
Cony kept its pressure in the Mt. Ararat zone behind the fast feet of Reny. The freshman at one point inched closer and closer to the net, but was ultimately denied when Madison Stover stopped her seven-yards out for the Eagles, keeping the game scoreless with 15 minutes remaining.
“ Our plan was to slow down a really speedy Cony team,” said Chase. “ We knew their overall speed was faster than ours and we worked on making adjustments.”
Cony’s best opportunity to score came with eight minutes left in regulation. The Rams offense fired multiple shots on Schenk, including a pair from point- blank range. The sophomore turned them all away, keeping the game scoreless, ultimately sending the game to overtime.
“I just wanted to make the plays for my teammates,” said the sophomore goalie. “ I just kept my eye on the ball and continued making the plays.”
Forward Wyley Fitzpatrick picked up the pace for the Eagles. The sophomore’s aggressiveness won her loose balls at midfield late in the game, setting up a couple of chances for Mt. Ararat, keeping everyone involved.
“We’ve come a long way this year,” said Fitzpatrick. “We got closer off the field and that translated to our play. I think we’ve got a better feel for each other.”
With under a minute remaining, the Eagles were awarded their first penalty corner of the half. Following a timeout, the Eagles set up the corner for Fitzpatrick, but were unable to get a shot off before another penalty corner was called. With 14 seconds left, Mt. Ararat was able to get the corner off, but the Cony defense smothered any chance of the Eagles getting a clean shot off, sending the game into overtime.
“We were just trying to get the shot off quick,” said Chase. “The girls set up fine, we just couldn’t convert.”
Cony outshot the Eagles, 9-4, and had the advantage in corners, 10-3.
“I was worried this past week whether I had them prepared enough or not,” said Chase. “Postseason can be tricky sometimes, but I think they did OK.”
The Eagles will graduate six seniors from this year’s squad. Chase pointed out their contributions to the growing program.
“I said to my seniors that the last four years of this program has really grown because of their leadership, their dedication and their commitment. Which is what we’re trying to turn around at Mt. Ararat,” said Chase. “And that’s the reason we played competitively with Cony today.”
No. 4 Cony 1, No. 5 Mt. Ararat 0 OT
Class A North Quarterfinal At Cony High School
| Mt. | Ararat — | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | |
| Cony | — | 0 | 0 | 1 | — | 1 |
Goal — (C) Kami Lambert. Assist — (C) Julia Reny. Shots on goal — Cony 9, Mt. Ararat 4. Saves — (MtA) — Lily Schenk 8, (C) Jessica Lee 4. Penalty corners — Cony 10, Mt. Ararat 3. Records — Cony 8-6-1, Mt. Ararat 9- 6. Note — Mt. Ararat’s season has concluded.
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