On Tuesday night, Manual girls’ varsity field hockey faced off against the Holy Cross Cougars in a matchup that featured a high-powered Lady Crimson offense. It was senior night, and the celebration of the graduating class of field hockey athletes was accompanied by a victory over the Cougars, with a final score of 10-0.
Before the game, Manual’s nine graduating seniors were celebrated in a ceremony. Seniors include Kaitlyn Scheldorf (#24, 12), Mali Bucher (#31, 12), Claire Dixon (#6, 12), Amari Grayson (#30, 12), Eleanor Holder (#90, 12), Lucy Vanderhoff (#1, 12), Dawson Packwood (#3, 12), Lola Kopp (#5, 12) and Jane Fishback (#22, 12). The celebration included the introduction and presentation of each senior to the crowd. They were given flowers and announced over the loudspeaker, with introductions including their future plans and advice to younger athletes.
First Half
The beginning of the game featured little scoring, but lots of offense for the Lady Crimsons. This resulted in four corners during the first 7 minutes. The first goal of the game came from Stella Shuman (#16, 10), with 9:10 left in the first quarter, who quickly followed up with a second goal. Less than a minute later, Chloe Cochran (#33, 10) added to the score for Manual. The Lady Crimsons scored one more time in the last seconds of the first quarter. The score was 4-0 entering the second quarter.
“It was overall a really fun night. We just had a lot of fun,” Packwood said.
Manual kept up the pace throughout the first half, keeping the ball almost exclusively on their opponent’s side of the field. They scored twice more in the first half, heading into halftime with a 6-0 lead over Holy Cross.
Second Half
As previously mentioned, the game featured corner after corner for Manual, and this was true for the second half, as well. One early corner in the second quarter led to another goal for Packwood, assisted by Cochran. The game began to slow down slightly in the third quarter, but the Lady Crimsons, eyeing a mercy rule, refused to let up. Behind two goals from Camille Hoekstra (#15, 10), Manual took a 10-0 lead on Holy Cross in the last minute of the third quarter, ending the game on a mercy rule.
“I think we had some great energy, some great looks, and we’ve been building a lot of confidence, especially going into the circles. So, we’re ready to bring that for regionals and get our energy up and drive,” Packwood said.
The Lady Crimsons’ will take on KCD at KCD on Thursday, Oct. 10 at 7 p.m.
