LISBON – Through three games of the high school field hockey season, Lisbon had yet to hit the scoring column.
Lisbon and Telstar squared off in an MVC field hockey clash Monday at Lisbon High School. Players watch a loose ball roll away from the net during the first half. Left to right, Telstar’s Madisyn Buck (12), Lisbon’s Laura Mockler, Emma Willey, Saide Hardt and Telstar keeper Perry Morton. The Greyhounds downed the Rebels, 5-2. (Eric Maxim / The Times Record)
That all changed Monday when the ‘Hounds scored five times en route to their first victory of the young season with a 5-2 Mountain Valley Conference win over Telstar.
Sadie Hardt registered three goals, while Timber Mattson and Amelia Mooney each added one in the Lisbon (1-3) victory.
Telstar’s Brooklyn Kimball and Madeline Hallett each had a goal for the Rebels (0-6).
“It was so nice to see some goals today. We just had to have the confidence that we could score,” Lisbon coach Julie Petrie said after the win. “I talked to the field hockey gods today and we tried something new and it worked.”
Petrie credits a switch up in formation and the determination of her squad for the win.
“We had a goal on Friday (a 3-0 loss to Oak Hill) after not scoring again that we were going to come in today and score, making that our priority. They came to play today. I was happy with the way we played as a team. They were disciplined and our spacing was good.”
Lisbon’s Haley Tuplin, left, battles Telstar’s Adeline Charette for the ball. (Eric Maxim / The Times Record)
For the better part of the first half, both teams were able to run to their offensive ends in spurts, but neither team was able to put any shots on goal.
Midway through the half, Lisbon rattled off five straight shots in a two-minute span, but Telstar keeper Perry Morton denied the Greyhounds to keep the game scoreless.
With a little over eight minutes on the clock, Hardt corralled a loose ball and struck it from the top of the circle, blasting it through the defense and past Morton for the Greyhounds’ first goal of the season, a relief to the squad.
“It feels so good to finally get on the board,” Hardt said. “It’s exciting as it set the tone for the rest of the game and hopefully the season.”
Exactly one minute later, Mooney tallied her score after she carried the ball through the circle and around the Rebel defenders for unassisted score.
With 56 seconds left in the half, Timber Mattson, who was in the middle of the circle creating opportunities for the Greyhounds all game, found the back of the cage to give the home team a 3-0 lead at the break.
“Timber played phenomenal today,” Petrie said of her senior forward. “She does a lot for us in the middle.”
Lisbon finished the half outshooting the Rebels 10-0, with five penalty corners, while Telstar had two.
Lisbon’s Sadie Hardt cuts in front of Telstar’s Adeline Charette during the first half of Monday’s MVC field hockey game in Lisbon. Lisbon won the game, 5-2. (Eric Maxim / The Times Record)
More goals
With the mood light and energy high after the three-goal half, Lisbon came out in the second half and put an exclamation point on the game in the first nine minutes.
After freshman Haley Tuplin took the ball into the circle, she tapped it to Hardt. She knocked it to the back of the cage for her second goal of the game at 22:16. Less than a minute later, the senior tallied her third goal, an unassisted score for a 5-0 Lisbon lead.
“I am so happy for her as she played awesome and led us on the field today,” Petrie said.
The mixture of freshman and sophomores with the Lisbon upperclassmen is starting to take shape.
“We’re coming together,” Hardt said about the influx of younger players. “We’re getting there, it took a little while, but as we keep practicing, we’ve been figuring it out and it’s coming together. Today showed that we can be united and play as a team.”
Trailing 5-0, Telstar continued to work. At 9:10, Kimball picked up her own rebound to put the Rebels on the board. Six minutes later, Hallet added her score.
While the Rebels only scored a pair, their attack in the second half was much different than the first.
“We played better in the second half as they passed better by looking ahead and anticipating where they were going to put the ball,” Telstar coach Gail Wight said. “That’s one of the things we talked about at halftime — when you have the ball on your stick, what are you going to do with it? We told them to look ahead and to see where everybody is.”
As a result of the aggressive play, the visitors had more opportunities in the final 30 minutes, putting five shots on goal, generating nine penalty corners.
“We were getting (penalty corners) because we were going after the ball in the circle.,” Wight said. “I tease them about not playing with blinders on, to watch the whole field. Once we started looking around and placing the ball, we looked better and that made a difference in the second half.”
Morton finished with nine saves for the Rebels. Lisbon’s Becky Budesheim stopped the two shots she faced in net, while Maria Levesque, who spelled Budesheim late in the second half, recorded one save.
Lisbon takes on Hall-Dale at Farmingdale on Wednesday at 4 p.m.
Telstar’s Jewell Smith, right, has a step on Lisbon’s Loreesa Potvin as they both charge to a loose ball during Thursday’s MVC field hockey game in Lisbon. (Eric Maxim / The Times Record)
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