Less than three minutes into its first game of the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference field hockey schedule, defending league finalist Garrison Forest found itself trailing Mount de Sales 1-0 on Wednesday afternoon.
But, after MacKenzie Griffith assisted Peyton Taylor following a penalty corner, the Grizzlies stiffened on both sides of the ball.
That turned out to be the only shot on goal for the Sailors (3-1-1 overal, 0-1-1 conference) in the first half against a Garrison defense led by juniors Eryn Frazier and Gaile Mallon and senior Meg Swindell.
Garrison’s offensive attack responded with four unanswered goals on the way to a 5-2 victory at Mount de Sales.
“It definitely was a wakeup call for us,” said Garrison senior Kara Frazier, who had a goal and assist. “We knew that they were going to be tough competition and them scoring first definitely showed us that. I think we started pretty slowly and that kind of showed us we needed to turn it up.”
Less than four minutes after Taylor’s goal, junior forward Ali Barrata (2 goals) had the Grizzlies on top and they never trailed again.
“Were we surprised that we got scored on first?, Yea, I guess a little bit, but it’s hockey and anything can happen,” said Garrison Forest coach Traci Davis whose squad improved to 6-0-1 overall. “I think that did wake us up. We were a little flat to begin with and that was a spark and that turned it around.”
Frazier assisted on the first goal and junior Natalie Adamez assisted Barrata on the second one.
The Grizzlies controlled time of possession the rest of the half but couldn’t score until Amanda Fruman’s shot was rebounded by Molly Daly. She assisted Frazier for a 3-1 lead with 1:10 left in the first half.
The Sailors nearly cut the lead in half, but Sam Dinoto’s shot was repelled by sprawling goalie Cassidy Riley (4 saves) just 2:15 into the second half.
Baratta’s pass on a penalty corner led to the Grizzlies’ fourth goal when Hallie Mules assisted Claire Jones.
But, the home team didn’t go away.
Allie Long forced a turnover and her lead pass led to a strong run down the sideline by Taylor that resulted in a penalty corner.
On the corner, inserted by Dinoto, Taylor and Dinoto had shots saved by Riley’s pads, but Long deposited the second rebound and made it 4-2 with 17:03 remaining.
Just 61 seconds later, Marina Lasarides redirected Adamez’s drive from the top of the circle for the final score.
Despite the three-goal difference, Mount de Sales coach Mary Gentner was pleased with her team’s effort and the play of senior Hannah Ignacio, junior Jenna Florenzo and sophomore Abbey Vorsteg.
“I thought it was a much closer game than 5-2, but you’ve got to respect their team and their coaches are outstanding,” Gentner said.
The respect was mutual.
“We can’t let ourselves get complacent and think that we were ranked no. 4 and we can beat everyone, because clearly there are a lot of good teams out here like Mount de Sales who are good competition,” Kara Frazier said.
