The Cabrini Cavalier Field Hockey team dominated Keystone College three to zero on Saturday, Oct. 8. All in the first half, juniors, forward Sara Johnsen, midfielder/forward Maddy Worley and midfielder Jackie Neary scored the only goals for the rest of the game.
“We knew that today was a very important game, it being a conference game,” head coach, Jackie Neary said. “We shot a lot, I know we would’ve liked to have scored more, but we’re very pleased with the win. Our two strengths are definitely our seniors (forward Taylor Mack and defensemen Kylie McDevitt,) and as a team we primarily focus on constantly improving so we can pull off wins like this one.”
The Cavaliers, who had a total of 15 shots on goal compared to Keystone’s two shots, controlled the pace of the game. “I think that today was a united win,” assistant coach, Dana Ott said. “We had so many contributors, and a lot of people distributing the ball and touching the ball today, so it was refreshing to see a team effort.”
“What we did this week is that we just focused on working on keeping our sticks down and getting the left wing on to the left post,” assistant coach, Debbie Schnellenbach said. “Maddy does a great job scoring, but we need somebody strong on the left post constantly. She gets there most of the time but we are working on developing a strong and constant support there.”
So what is the key to their successes? The Cavaliers are at a strategic advantage by having many players on their team. “We have a really big bench, so during practice we are able to practice having 11 on 11, simulating a game,” assistant coach Theresa Doyle said. “It’s huge for us to be able to run scrimmages at practice.”
The Cavaliers had two saves, 11 penalty corners and 28 shots in total. “We have so much strength within our defense and our ability to cross balls in the offense,” junior defensemen Ryan Taylor said. “We just played with heart and had fun. We were told that if we put our hearts into this game and play to have fun, the win would come.”
The Cavaliers’ next game is Saturday, Oct. 15th away at Cedar Crest College.
