An overtime loss on Wednesday, Oct. 29 at Stonehill College eliminated the St. Michael’s College field hockey team from the Northeast-10 Conference playoffs. The team ended its season with an overall record of 11-8.
Fiery start ends in tough loss
The fourth-seeded Stonehill Skyhawks came from behind to defeat the fifth-seeded Purple Knights 3-2 at Stonehill’s W.B. Mason Stadium.
The Purple Knights took the lead with a goal scored by senior Andrea Slaven, the 51st of her career and 117th total point. Sophomore Kayleigh Ferrari boosted the lead to two goals when she scored off assists from senior Trisha McCormick and junior Molly Dimasi.
"This class of seniors is going to leave the team in a real good position. They’ve helped the younger players along all season." |
- Head Coach Carla Hesler |
“We started real strong with lots of fire in our game,” head coach Carla Hesler explains. “But it was hard to maintain that effort.”
The Skyhawks were able to counter and before the first half was over they cut the lead to 2-1. The score remained 2-1 until the Skyhawks scored their second goal with 10 minutes left in regulation, taking the game into overtime.
“It seemed like Stonehill came out really hard in the second half," junior Kate Higgins says. "They had a lot of chances.”
Stonehill carried that momentum into overtime and scored the sudden death winner, ending the Purple Knights championship run, Higgins says.
“When you go into overtime, it’s a totally different game,” Hesler adds.
Senior goalkeeper Jordan Smalling, recently honored as NE-10 co-Goalkeeper of the Week, had 15 saves in the loss.
Strong season full of improvement
St. Michael's finished the regular season fifth in the NE-10. A major contribution to their success was an impressive 4-0 start, which Hesler credits to their pre-season trip to Europe.
“The trip really helped us get to know each other and helped us get a strong start,” she says.
The team beat two of the top four teams in the conference, Bentley and Stonehill, proving they were a competitive team and could be a contender in the playoffs.
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Junior Kaitlin Koffink advances the ball during the team's senior day contest.
(Photo by Cailey McDermott) |
The season also had its setbacks, such as losses and injuries, but Hesler made sure they did not stop the team’s progress. Losses and injuries are part of the game, and things can be learned from such setbacks, she points out.
“In the beginning of the season we lost to a lower team and then we beat them later in the season, so that was a learning experience,” Hesler says. “Injuries are always setbacks too, but other players can emerge as players you can count on.”
Throughout the season, the team improved its defense in critical areas of the field and learned to support the ball more in the offensive third, she says.
Seniors brought leadership for the future
In addition to those specific on-field tactics, the team’s success is much attributed to the leadership skills of the five seniors on the team, something they will miss next season.
Sara Fournier, Andrea Slaven, Alexandra Simmons, Jordan Smalling, and Tricia McCormick led the team this year. They played at least 90 to 95 percent of every game and represented every position from goalkeeper to forward.
Slaven's 51 goals and 117 total points broke previous program records.
“[Slaven's] such a creative player and I think that’s what sets her apart,” Hesler says. “She’s very athletic and explosive and hard to defend.”
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"[Slaven's] such a creative player and I think that's what sets her apart," Hesler says.
(Photo by Cailey McDermott) |
Dimasi recognizes the hole Slaven and the other seniors’ absence will leave.
“It’ll be tough because we are losing so much talent," she says. "We’re losing our top goalie and scorer."
Higgins agrees that it will be hard to replace this year’s seniors and knows that success next year will depend on continuing the strong leadership they had this season.
After seeing more playing time, she believes the juniors are ready to step into that role.
Hesler also notes how all of the juniors saw significant playing time and thinks the team will be able to build off the foundation the seniors created.
“This class of seniors is going to leave the team in a real good position," Hesler says. "They’ve helped the younger players along all season."
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