The Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School varsity field hockey team defeated the Sturgis Charter School East Storm 2-0 on the Island’s field hockey pitch on Monday.
Bouncing back from a tough loss against Whitman-Hanson Regional High School on Saturday, the Vineyarders dominated the offensive zone and maintained ball control for the majority of the game.
“I think overall we did really well,” said Head Coach Kaitlyn Benoit in a postgame interview. “We’re coming off of a tough loss on Saturday, so to be able to bounce back like that today really shows how determined they are to make the tournament.”
The girls are 4-4-1 on the season, and looking to roll into the MIAA state tournament; before Saturday’s loss and a tie prior, they were on a four-game winning streak and riding momentum.
“When I checked the other day, we were sitting at 29, which is a huge feat for us,” Benoit said of the team’s rank. “So we’re trying to keep climbing that ladder as much as we can, and this week is really important to us.”
Monday’s game was slow to start. The first quarter was back-and-forth, with neither the Vineyard nor Sturgis finding strong scoring opportunities. However, when the second quarter rolled around, the Vineyarders started pouring on the offensive-zone attack, dominating ball control and generating some near misses. But despite the Vineyard’s offensive onslaught, the score remained 0-0 at halftime.
The breakout goal for the Vineyarders came when senior Carolina Smith (No. 2) capitalized on a long pass from Abby Geary (No. 16) near midfield. Smith, who received the ball deep in Sturgis’ goalkeeper slot, fired it over the shoulder of the Sturgis keeper with roughly 14 minutes left in the third quarter, to give the Vineyarders a one-goal lead. Later in the quarter, Geary added another goal to the Vineyard lead, handling the ball through the Sturgis slot with pressure on before scoring with four minutes remaining in the third quarter.
Going into the fourth quarter with a two-goal advantage, the Vineyarders maintained strong offensive pressure and kept Sturgis off the scoreboard.
“I am proud of the hard work that everyone is putting in this season,” said Benoit. “Every practice and competition gives us the opportunity to push ourselves to be better than the day before. We are stressing the importance of teamwork and how everyone’s job is important to our success. Despite injuries and sickness, the team continues to be resilient, persevere, and stay motivated toward our common goal — making the playoffs.”
Reflecting on the match against Sturgis, Benoit said the team’s offense was key to the Vineyard’s success. “I think we are really offensively driven this season,” she said. “We’ve been really focusing on practicing moving the ball upfield and passing it in and out throughout the field.”
Benoit highlighted Smith’s opening goal as critical to the win for the Vineyard team, as well as Lauren Sedlier (No. 7), who Benoit said stepped up and filled big gaps left by injured and sick teammates.
“I would have to give a shoutout to No. 2, Carolina Smith, also No. 7, Lauren Sedlier,” said Benoit. “[Sedlier] came out and played hard, and that’s what we ask of our bench.”
Benoit said that she’s hopeful moving forward: “This season we have a lot of talent, and we are going for that tournament. Whatever we can do to make it and keep our season going, we are going to try our best.”
