Somers Breaks Even Versus Nanuet

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Slideshow v John Jay

Last year, Somers Field Hockey traveled to Nanuet and lost a closely contested game. The venue switching on Wednesday September 11, it was more of the same and Coach Shannon Scavelli was happy with the way her Tuskers showed out. “Our girls played hard the whole time. They had great possession of the ball and were connecting well,” she said. The actual outcome wasn’t so bad either.

Somers scored in the first half, Nanuet scored in the second, and a 1-1 tie resulted.

The game started in the Nanuet zone, and the Tuskers definitely had the advantage in exerting offensive pressure throughout. The best first opportunity came after Sophia Cesario took up a divot on the free shot, and Gianna Guaragna ended up with the ball on the right. She teed off, and the shot rolled just wide at 10:39.

Forty-Five seconds later, another miss hit set up Somers. In position to clear, Meghan O’Meara didn’t get much wood on the ball, and Caitlin Mayfield pounced. The ball meandered right, and Teagan Wiggins put a shot on goal.

Mia Chindemi with the save, Somers continued to keep the Golden Knight company, and two penalty corners got the ball in too close for the goalie’s comfort.

Somers wasn’t done either. Guaragna shot from the right, the ball made its way into Isabella Mancini, and she directed wide past the open box.

Still, Nanuet did manage to get the ball past midfield a few times. So Jane Guardino and Julia McCartin kept up the disarray, but Nanuet would draw a penalty corner at 3:05.

Somers worked the whistle to their advantage nonetheless. Ashely Wain’s shot from the circle was picked off by Guardino, she cleared the ball to the sideline, and Emma Donaldson tracked it down.

On the break, Donaldson stick handled past the midfielder and passed ahead to Gabriella Valderrama. No hesitation, the senior led Guaragna, and the one v one resulted in a penalty stroke for Jessica Bowden. “I was pretty confident,” said the junior, and the midfielder went to the left corner for the 1-0 lead at 1:49.

Onto the second period, the containment continued. Bowden got wood on a Nanuet free shot to thwart one advance, and on a subsequent entry pass, Mayfield’s anticipation led to another incursion into the crease at 13:40.

Turned away, Mayfield was undeterred. On the left, she refused to give in on Cesario’s attempt to escape the zone, and the resulting shot had Scavelli praising her middie’s mettle. “She always wants to get the ball. It’s an awesome mentality to have, and when she does that, everyone follows,” said the coach.

Of course, Nanuet did manage to escape eventually, and back on the other end, the defense was as relentless as the offense. Led by Guardino, Valderrama and McCartin, Nanuet could not set up with all the sticks in the way.

But the visitors would get their chance. Off a penalty corner, Nanuet was deep in on the left, and the shot coming in, Willow Browne went to the ground for the save. Kicking around, Madison Whipple got the clear, and a few minutes later, Chindemi got the chance to go down to pick her team up.

The Somers inbound at the 50 rolled to Wiggins, and she put the ball on the stick of Donaldson. One v one again, the Nanuet goalie came out, took the hit and the ball rolled wide at 2:14.

The third period was more of the same control for Somers, and into the fourth, a few more penalty corners seemed status quo for the Tuskers. Unfortunately, the pass in from the goal line was more of a dribble, and the defense stepped in to get the ball ahead.

On the run, Evelyn Fay went coast to coast ,and her pass inside caused chaos in the crease. Hacking away on both sides, the ball came free to Ava Barros, and there was nothing but an empty box in her sights. A simple push, the game was tied with 10:42 left in the game.

Somers kept at it nonetheless, and the tie almost broke with five minutes to go. Bowden passed in on the penalty corner, the ball came back, and her shot into the crease created a big mess too. That left Mancini posting up, but she could not get her stick on the loose ball.

The next best chance would come in overtime. First Mayfield forced a turnover in the Somers end at 8:30, and her teammates kept up the offensive containing pressure. No release on the sideline, McCartin threaded a perfect pass into Bowden, and her swipe hit the post.

The deadening thud was not reminiscent of this team’s spirit, though. “The positivity on this team is just great. After a tie like this, we could really be down on ourselves, but we understand it’s a process. So each game we’re growing and our seniors and captains really get that,” she concluded.