Field Hockey: Avon Grove Takes Down Unionville to Start the Season!

Field Hockey: Red Devils turn back Indians to start season
By BILL RUDICK
Posted: 09/03/2013 09:06:50 PM EDT

WEST GROVE — When the Avon Grove field hockey team first saw its schedule and saw Unionville in the Ches-Mont league opener, they weren’t exactly thrilled at the prospect. The Indians have had the better of the rivalry for the past few years, a fact not lost on the Red Devils.

“I think all of us were a little worried when we saw we opened the season with Unionville,’ said Avon Grove forward Anna Gould. “We’ve kind of struggled against them the past few years.’

Turns out the concerns were unwarranted. The Red Devils came out of the gate strong, then fended off a furious push in the second half to come away with a 3-1 victory in the season opener for both teams.

“Starting out this strong against a team like Unionville is really going to set the tone for our season,’ said Gould. “We just got more and more confident as the game went on, and we’ll be able to carry that confidence going forward.’

The first 30 minutes was pretty much all Avon Grove. They controlled most of the possessions, and posted a pair of goals while the Indians got off just two shots on goal, and only drew three penalty corners.

“It was really important for us to come out strong in the first minutes the way we did,’ added Gould. “We really dominated a lot of the first half. We got a couple corners early, and just upped the pressure from there.’

Gould got the Red Devils on the board first, taking a pass from Olivia D’Antonio in a crowd and slipping it past Unionville goalie Sarah O’Neill and into the back of the cage, just beyond the 24 minute mark. Avon Grove struck again just before the end of the half, when Gould picked up an assist on a goal from Paige Hammond with 1:22 to play.

“We were making connections really today,’ said Red Devils’ coach Sandy Leiti. “We played well on both sides of the field, and communicated better than we have yet this year.’

Unionville came out in the second half looking like a different team, ratcheting up the pressure and making Avon Grove goalie Emily Carroll earn her keep. But, despite forcing nine corners over the final 30 minutes, and rattling off 10 shots on goal, only Izzy McDonough’s shot at 17:15 found the back of the cage.

“We were better at going to our strong side of the field in the second half, and played more to our strengths in general,’ said Unionville coach Beth Lynch. “Our stick-to-stick passing was much better, but we’ve got to be able to take advantage of our opportunities to put it in the cage.’

Carroll proved to be up to the task of the increased workload, notching 10 saves on the day, including eight in the second half.

“This is Emily second year in the cage for us,’ said Leiti. “And she just keeps improving by leaps and bounds. She wants to keep playing beyond high school, so she’s strongly focused on getting better.’

That focus doesn’t mean she didn’t get a little nervous when confronted with the barrage of shots being fired on her.

“It definitely gets a little nerve-wracking,’ said Carroll. “But, I know our defense is solid, and we communicate so well together that I might get nervous, but I also trust in my defense to give me all the support I need.’

The defensive unit of Becca Waite, Taylor Francis, Maggie Winter, Hannah Smith and Natalie Boyd, who had a defensive save on the day, kept the Indians at bay for much of the day, and out of the goal when they had to come up with the plays. D’Antonio rounded out the scoring with a goal with 8:48 to play.

“It definitely feels good to come out of this game with a win,’ said Lieti. “I think we all were a little stressed to open up the season against Unionville, so it feels great to get a win.’

Avon Grove 3, Unionville 1

Unionville 0 1 –1

Avon Grove 2 1 –3Unionville goal: McDonough

Avon Grove goals: Gould, Hammond, D’Antonio

Goalie saves: O’Neill (U) 3; Carroll (AG) 10.