The Bombers celebrate their first goal of the game against the South Hadley Tigers Tuesday, a score from Leighanne Sullivan. (Photo by Chris Putz)
WESTFIELD – The heat is on.
Mother Nature turned up the dial on the late summer temps, and Westfield battled through sweltering heat and an upstart field hockey team from South Hadley in Tuesday’s season opener.
Sophomore Hannah Menard staved South Hadley to a 1-0 first half lead, and the Tigers tacked on three straight second-half goals en route to a 4-2 victory.
It was a well-played game for Westfield, all things considered. For the Bombers (0-1), it was their first day of school and one that felt like a lazy, summer afternoon.
“It was a tough loss on the chin for our first game,” Westfield coach Karen Gomez said, “but we had a lot of fine moments.”
Westfield limited South Hadley to just one goal over the first 30 minutes of the game. Despite falling behind 4-0, the Bombers rallied for the final two goals.
Westfield junior Leighanne Sullivan dribbled the ball half the length of the field, powering the ball past several defenders, and smacking it off the goalie into the net with 4:52 remaining in regulation.
Liz Marcyoniak notched a goal with 10 ticks left on the clock. Desiree Otero assisted on the play.
“South Hadley came out strong,” coach Gomez said. “We need to fine tune a few little things before Agawam on Friday, and we should be in good shape.”
Westfield travels to Agawam to take on the Brownies Friday at 4 p.m.
JUNIOR VARSITY
Westfield 2, South Hadley 0
WESTFIELD – Westfield defeated visiting South Hadley High in the season opener.
Sophomore Captain Liz Poteat quickly scored the first goal of the game at 27:51 from an assist by Freshman Diana Shia.
The two teams did not score again for the remainder of the first half so Westfield led 1-0 going into the second.
Freshman wing Maddie Fortier scored her first high school career goal at 21:13 unassisted to bump the score to 2-0.
The Lady Bombers had several scoring opportunities throughout the game and played incredible defense. Freshman captains Hannah Jarvis and Fiona Cioch were instrumental in the midfield and their aggressive play was key to keeping an offensive push. Westfield goalkeeper Gwen Smith had 7 saves in the shutout. “With a 23 player JV squad, it was great to see the intensity and excitement from all the girls,” Westfield JV head coach Linda Rowbotham said. “I’m looking forward to another great season.”
