The Wildcats field hockey team faced Clarksburg High School in a high-scoring senior night match, winning the game 4-0.
Most players tend to look forward to their senior night game and this was no exception. It allows seniors to start one last time in their senior year and be celebrated by their coaches, players and parents.
Despite nervousness about starting, many players noted enthusiasm about playing the whole game.
“I was excited to play on the field with all the seniors. It was fun to try new positions and play with friends who I have been playing field hockey with for a long time,” senior Peyton Brown said.
The Cats ended up with a 4-0 senior night victory, with goals from a wide range of seniors. Senior captain Gillian Rosenstock and senior Francisca Siboni’s goals were more common. On the other hand, more excitement came from senior captain Jackie Fuller and senior Shae McCloskey’s rarer goals.
There were also expected consequences from the game like strong emotions.
“I expected the game to be super fun and for us to win, but I also knew that it would probably be emotional because it was going to be one of my last field hockey games ever with this team,” senior Charlotte Markey said.
Two days after the thrills of senior night, the Cats were challenged with a more rigorous opponent in Sherwood. The game went into double overtime but the Cats eventually persevered, scoring the game-winning goal.
It was a back-and-forth defensive match. The Cats held them off for the entire game on defense but struggled to score offensively.
“The Sherwood goalie was very good. She kept blocking shot after shot, we were so close to scoring but struggled each time to get the final touch in,” senior captain Gillian Rosenstock said.
After the score was all tied up after the first four quarters, the first overtime began. The Cats are experienced with the overtime rules already winning another overtime game against Poolesville this season.
“It was definitely unexpected to go into overtime against Sherwood because I assumed we would have easily won and I never would have thought it would be that close of a game,” Markey said.
After a first overtime period of 10 minutes, the score was still even at 0-0. The second overtime period started and the Cats were ready to put this game away with a game-sealing goal. Who else but to look towards than Rosenstock, who finished off Sherwood in double overtime with a golden goal.
“It was amazing to score. It was a very rewarding goal because we were so close to scoring the whole game,” Rosenstock said.
After a big win on the road against Sherwood, the Cats traveled to Blair High School to face off in another game and expected to sail smoothly into the postseason. However, they didn’t expect to run into another team’s senior night and the level of energy that came with it. The Cats couldn’t top off their thrilling week, losing to Blair 1-0.
“Everyone seemed more driven and wanted to win more but that was also another reason we wanted to win,” Brown said.
Even though the Cats were challenged with a difficult game on Blair’s senior night, they played a good match, keeping it close through the majority of the game but letting it slip through their fingers off a questionable no-call goal. The team played hard but still needs to improve if they want to make a long run in the playoffs.
“I think that we need to be able to keep the intensity that we start with throughout the whole game. We need to use the momentum to score early then build a lead off that energy,” Rosenstock said.
The Cats start their postseason with their first game at Richard Montgomery High School this Thursday. WJ lost to RM earlier this season in a close game, but with the Cats looking improved, their first playoff game may be a nail-biter.
