By: Ashley Young — Correspondent

Despite a week full of challenging competitors, Sharon’s Varsity Field Hockey team played their best games yet with amazing goal tending by junior Natalie Kessler, who averaged 20 saves in both games. Nonetheless, the Eagles are now 0-5 in the 2021 season.

Sharon fought hard against Oliver Ames, the #3 ranked team in the Davenport division, losing 6-0. “The forward line did a pretty good job communicating with each other, but something we need to improve on for our upcoming games is making sure we are communicating with defense,” said senior Emma Botelho.

“I think we need to work more on spreading out on the field, filling in open spots, and acting more aggressive,” added junior Trisha Brahmachari.

In their second game of the week, the Eagles faced King Philip, the #1 ranked team in the Kelley-Rex division, losing 7-0. The Eagles suffered three injuries in the third quarter and had to play short-handed. Still, they were able to hold the Warriors to a scoreless fourth quarter. “Unfortunately in the third quarter we lost three players to injuries on the field. But, because of that, in the fourth quarter, we really picked it up and didn’t let in any goals so we ended on a strong note,” said senior captain Abby Gott. 

The offense focused on using their strong sideline and stick stills to their advantage in taking the ball up the field. “Ashley Young had some amazing moves down the field. She was weaving in and out of players and the ball was continuously declared ours up the field because of her great stick skills,” said Gott. 

Goalie Natalie Kessler had numerous impressive saves as she dove and did splits to deflect the ball out of the circle. Seniors Ariana Yancey, Kaleigh Connolly, Emile Allaire, and sophomore Jane Hendrixson were all major playmakers in Sharon’s defense. 

“Even though 7 goals were let in, that was only a fraction of the goals that were saved and wasn’t comparable to what the score could have been. The ball has to make it past ten other players before it makes it to the goalie so the score is a reflection of the whole team,” said Gott. 

Recapping the week, Varsity Coach Paulina Kosmadakis said, “I think a big strength of the team is their willingness to learn and grow as a team. I also think that our team’s endurance as a whole has excelled.” 

Kosmadakis is looking forward to seeing the team improve even more in the final weeks of the season. 

“Looking into next week we have a big week against Mansfield, Canton, and Foxboro. We are hoping to continue communicating on and off the field. Off the field we really want to help the people that are playing so they know how to position themselves because you can’t see a lot on the field. It is kind of like tunnel vision. And on the field we want to focus on keeping good formations so that if the ball does get lost we can focus on bringing the ball back up,” said Gott.