First loss for strong NK field hockey squad
By Adrienne Downing

Tory Dolce prepares to take a penalty shot. Dolce is a key player for the Skippers mid-field. Photo by Adrienne Downing

The North Kingstown High School field hockey team took the end of their undefeated streak in stride.

The team had been 7-0 before succumbing to East Greenwich, 1- 0, Monday night at home. The irony of the game was that although the winning goal was credited to Lauren Buckheit of East Greenwich, the goal was not scored by the Avengers, but off of the foot of an NK defender with just 10:47 remaining in the game.

"We played very well, we defi- nitely outplayed them," head coach Julie Maguire said. "We dominated the game in shots on goal, time of possession and penalty corners. Unfortunately all of that doesn't mean anything if we can't put the ball in the net. The best we can hope for in that situation is a tie."

The Skippers appeared to have the first score of the game 17 minutes into the first half when a ball seemed to penetrate the East Greenwich goal line, but the shot was ruled a save by the East Greenwich goalie.

Islander Tory Dolce chased down an Avenger breakaway just 3 minutes later to keep the game scoreless.

"Dolce has excellent stick skills and she has a great ability to see the field. She controls the tempo of the game," Maguire said about her second-year varsity player.

Megan Greene had several heart-stopping shots, but just could not get one on the board.

"Greene's strength is definitely her speed," the coach said. "She is also a second-year player and she is even faster this year than she was last year."

Meghan Farrelly and Rory Kirby are keys to the Skippers strong defense.

"Farrelly has great defensive awareness and tackling ability and Kirby is a vital defensive sub," Maguire said. "She (Kirby) has a lot more confidence this year than she did last year. I know there are certain situations that I couldn't have put her in last year, that I can this year and have confidence in her."

The coach summed up her two Jamestown captains, Hallie Barber and Tallie Pruell, with one word.

"They are phenomenal, what else can I say," she enthused.

Cate Brennan rounds out Maguire's group of Jamestown girls on the team.

"Cate's biggest strength is her ability to dribble the ball with speed. She also has an uncanny ability to tip the ball in the net from the post position," the coach said.

The coach was not the only one full of praises. Her players offered up such phrases as "amazing, she really connects with her players, she pushes us in a good way," when asked about their coach.

Maguire complimented her team on their tough play after the game, and encouraged them to use the game as a learning experience.

"That was the first time we have been in a deficit and they could have used that opportunity to let it fire them up, but they were kind of flat after the goal," the coach said.

With the team's strengths in passing, individual stick skills and defense, they probably will not be in deficit situations often this year. They are the only team to have qualified for the playoffs, and they are just halfway through the season.

In a mirror of the varsity action, the JV team also suffered a 1-0 loss to the Avengers.

"We played a very strong first half," said Jamestowner and team captain Danielle Perez. "We kept the ball mainly on the offensive half of the field and on the outside of the field."

Perez said the difference in the game was the Avengers capitalizing on a Skipper mistake in the middle of the field.

"We had the ball in the middle and they got it away from us and scored on it," she said.

The loss puts the team at 3-2-1 for the season.

"We are getting stronger every game," Perez noted. "Our first loss was in our first game, the next game we tied, and then we won our next three games. We have won by as many as six goals."

The young team has only six sophomores and 11 freshmen, so Perez and the team's other captain, islander Hannah Farrelly, are focusing on having all of the players working together on the field.

"For example, in this game we were not getting the ball from the midfielders to the front line as effectively as we could have," she said.

Both the varsity and JV teams were coming off of a four-game week and have used this week to practice and rest up for tomorrow afternoon's game against Lincoln School.