Scarsdale Field Hockey Team Beats the Heat and Carmel

Coach Lauren Barton Instructs the Team.While the calendar tells us that fall is upon us this week, the weather still felt like summer as the thermometer was bumping on 80 degrees as the Scarsdale Field Hockey team hosted Carmel on September 21. Scarsdale came into the game boasting a 5-1 record while the Rams were sporting a nearly as impressive record of 4-2-1. In a hard fought contest the Raiders came out on top 3-1.

Scarsdale displayed a balanced attack throughout the game – with the offense and defense contributing to the victory. The Raiders struck first within the first 4 minutes as Andie Novenstein scored off a corner. The Rams put a fair amount of pressure on Scarsdale throughout the first half. Carmel was aided by what has become a continuing thorn in Scarsdale’s side – corners. The Raiders were called for 22 corners – quite a large amount – that set up the opponent for a multiplayer advantage right in front of Scarsdale’s goal. Fortunately for the Raiders, sophomore and second year goalie Angela Hoey and defenders Victoria Wilson, Maeve Jacobson, Olivia Franco, and Emily Felder came up big the entire game in deterring these attacks on its goal. Coach Lauren Barton said: “we’ve been practicing defending and executing the corners a lot during our practices. It’s an area we’d still like to improve.”

In a sequence midway through the first half Felder stopped a sure goal during a corner. On the ensuing corner penalty Hoey stopped a point blank shot by Kylie Rosenquest - one of Carmel’s top scorers. With 5 minutes left in the half Hoey came way of out the cage she was defending and blocked a shot and made a sprawling save on the rebound – preserving the Raiders lead.

With about 3 minutes left in the half Scarsdale Co-Captain middie Senior Liz Scarcella notched the Raiders second goal as she beautifully lifted the ball over Ram’s goalie Deveney Howard after a hectic scrum that was created off a corner. Her fellow Co-Captain Sophia Franco assisted as Scarsdale increased its lead to 2-0 and the score remained that way until the first half ended.

Early in the second half Hoey robbed Kylie Rosenquest of a sure goal with a fabulous save and Maeve Jacobson made an excellent stop off of yet another Carmel corner. The next few minutes saw the Raiders control the ball with Scarcella displaying strong ball handling skills.

With four minutes gone in the second half, Scarsdale’s Haley Matusz banged in what appreared to be the Raider’s third goal. However the goal was disallowed and the ball went back to the Rams. On the ensuing possession, Carmel’s Laila Rosenquest drove down the field and fed her teammate Caitlin Tully who knocked in the Ram’s first goal with 15 minutes left in the contest. Suddenly Scarsdale looked to be in a fight – nursing a 2-1 lead.

The Raiders responded to the challenge quite nicely – controlling the ball for most of the next few minutes. Eventually this pressure led to Matusz scoring at the 8-minute mark (with this one counting) after a high level of pressure around the Rams goal. Scarsdale took a commanding 3-1 lead that they did not relinquish. However, the Rams did not give up attacking. Goalie Hoey came way out of her cage to defend – one of several such times to squelch a possible shot on goal by Carmel. After the game Hoey said: “I come out when I think I can stop or clear the ball quickly – I’m not afraid to do that.”

The Rams charged several additional times in the final five minutes – but were turned away by the Raider’s defenders and goalie repeatedly. With 3 minutes to play, the Rams nearly knotted its second goal as Kylie Rosenquest narrowly missed the mark. The teams traded possessions as the clock ran out and Scarsdale emerged with the solid 3-1 victory.

This win brings Scarsdale’s record to 6-1 and facing an always dangerous and loaded Bronxville squad at Bronxville on Monday. Coaches Barton and Martinez will look to keep Scarsdale’s winning streak alive.