After losing to Mount Lebanon (15-6) and to South Fayette (21-13), the Hawks needed a win, and they did just that, in big style, winning 14-6 over Canon-McMillan Monday night.
“I felt confident,” said junior captain Sarah Neal. “Going into the game, we knew it would be a big one and that we needed to come out with energy and confidence and that’s exactly what we did.”
The starting goalie for the game was senior Ally Wolling.
Starting on defense were juniors Ashley Stasik and Maddy Cook and sophomores Cami McNees and Mikayla Watson.
On the attacking end, the starters were juniors Morgan Cook, Sarah Neal, Kylie DeMark and Jennifer Heh.
The three midfielders were junior Scotlyn Paxton and sophomores Cami Fisher and Liliana Centofanti.
At halftime, the score was tied at 4-4.
“We talked about recognizing how timid and scared to mess up we were playing in the first half,” said Coach Jackie. “We were trying to play safe and that’s not how you take control of a game. I had every player that’s scored a game hold their stick up and keep it up for everyone to see. I needed those players to recognize they are already capable of scoring because they’ve done it, and several times before. They needed them to believe in themselves and seeing all the sticks up ignited them.”
After halftime, the Hawks were SOARING. From interceptions, causing turnovers, picking up ground balls and having 20 shots on goal.
During the third quarter, sophomore Cami Fisher captured her 50th draw control.
“It was super exciting to reach 50 draw controls because it’s always the first step in a play for our team to gain possession and score goals, so being able to get that started and set up my teammates feels really great,” mentioned Fisher.
“Defense also made a big impact on the other side of the field. We really focused on getting low and setting up on the transition to defense,” said junior captain Maddy Cook. “We prioritized communication on crashes, cutters and drives.”
When asked what were key strategies that led to our win, Coach Jackie said: “Ultimately it came down to draw controls. Cami Fisher tallied nine putting her over 50 draw controls for the season. Scotyln, Liliana and Morgan had eight together. That gave us 75% possession of game draw controls. We scored within 15 seconds at the start of the second half and never slowed down after that. We moved freely around the 12 meter, shots were clean and precise and although we were tied at half time, we only allowed CM one goal in the second half, while we put 11 in the back of the net. In the backfield we made minor adjustments to allow for a faster transition by defense. Senior Ally Wolling made eight saves and showcased patience and dominance in the net.”
The 14 goals that the Hawks had were scored by four different players. Sophomore Liliana Centofanti led the team with six goals and one assist, junior Sarah Neal had five goals and one assist, junior Scotyln Paxton had two goals, junior Kylie DeMark had one goal. Junior Jenny Heh and sophomores Cami Fisher and Morgan Wolling had one assist. Senior Ally Wolling had eight saves.
“I think we came together really well on the transition and while man down on the offensive side. The team dynamic was hype and overall excited about the game!” mentioned team captain junior Scotyln Paxton
The Hawks return home to play USC at 7 p.m. on Monday, April 14. They will then host Armstrong at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, April 16 (Senior Rec is at 5:30 p.m.).
