Girls varsity field hockey beat Westport High School, 4-1

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Lee Hayman celebrates after the first Martha’s Vineyard goal in a game against Westport Tuesday. — Photo by Michael Cummo

The Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School varsity girls field hockey team came out with guns blazing Tuesday afternoon against the 0-2 Westport High School Wildcats, taking control of the game immediately. The ball did not cross the centerline into Vineyard territory until nearly six minutes after the start.

The Vineyarder girls displayed an awesome show of constant force throughout the game, maintaining tight pressure at the Westport goalie’s doorstep for most of the match. Averaging about one-minute intervals, the talented Vineyard offense was at the opponent’s goal area nine times from 22:37 to 11:48 in the first half.

At the first timeout, head coach Lisa Knight told her team, “I’m done watching the ball. Let’s get a goal right now. Right this second!” Lee Hayman was paying attention. She scored the first Vineyard goal at 10:00, assisted by captain Sidney Davies and Belle Dinning.

The quality passing, teammate field awareness, stick-handling skills, and the ability of the girls to maintain control of their drives were on display throughout the game. “This is a very cohesive group, and they have great chemistry,” Ms. Knight told The Times. “They know each other’s moves — if one girl is going down the side, someone else is going to be there for her.”

At halftime, the Vineyard led 1-0. “Don’t be lazy — it’s only one goal! We need to find the hot spots and find the open net,” Ms. Knight told the team.

Assistant coach Beth O’Connor advised the girls, “There is no defense, the net is wide open — the goalie comes out to play so take advantage!”

The players were listening.  Just after a minute into the second half, Belle Dinning had a strong drive down the field and scored the second Vineyarder goal at 29:02, with an assist from lightning-fast Lee Hayman. Captain Aubrey Ashmun was an absolute standout at center. Her stick work and ball control were instrumental in keeping the ball in Westport territory. Kylie Hatt had an incredible stop to keep a play on offense, and Iris Albert was strong on defense.

With 8:23 left in the second half, Megan Piche bulldozed down the field, leading to the third Vineyarder goal by Gabby Hoxie. Just three minutes later, there was an accidental “pop-in” by a Vineyard player into the Vineyard net, giving Westport its first and only goal. With 2:26 left in the game, Lacey Dinning exhibited some masterful plays, and scored the Vineyarders’ fourth and final goal.

The varsity record is now 3-1, with the only loss to Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School, a Division 1 team and last year’s state champions. The Vineyarders only lost that game 0-1, which Ms. Knight said “was a moral win for us.” The other two victories were against Maynard High School (4-1) and West Bridgewater High School (1-0). Ms. Knight told The Times, “When you play at the varsity level, you play to win, and that’s what we’ve been doing.”

If not for the accidental opponent goal, Vineyard starting goalie Julia Bettencourt would have had a shutout. Julia told The Times post-game, “I thought it was a great game. I think we got [the ball] down the field a lot and were around the [other] goal.”

“Everyone played smart hockey with good passes and positive energy,” Assistant Coach Beth O’Connor told The Times at the game’s conclusion. Ms. Knight continued to The Times, “Today was an opportunity to get some players in who may not get as much [playing] time, and they stood up and fought and did a great job! It’s [also] nice to see more than one girl scoring goals, as today there were four different people who scored.” This included the Dinning sisters, Belle and Lacey, scoring one goal each, which, Ms. Knight said, “is a nice thing to see.”

Ms. Knight added, “I’m really lucky; I have a deep nucleus of seniors and I have tremendous captains. I’m the lucky one to be out on the field with them.”

Varsity girls field hockey has the next two games at home — one Thursday Sept. 18th against a tough Bishop Stang High School of North Dartmouth at 3:00 pm, and one Saturday Sept. 20th against Notre Dame Academy of Hingham at 11:30 am.