The girls varsity field hockey team, currently ranked first in the district, maintained its momentum on senior night and went on to defeat the McLean Highlanders 3-2 on Oct. 4.
Despite being down 1-0 the first quarter, Marshall scored about two minutes later. Both teams scored again, bringing the game to a 2-2 tie going into halftime.
Senior Paige Veoni scored both goals for Marshall. The goals were assisted by juniors Emily Sexton and Katrina McLeod. In the second half, Sexton scored the game-winning goal on an assist by captain Maddie O’Beirne, senior.
“We just kept them scoreless in the second half and Sexton brought the ball down and scored the winning goal,” junior Sydney Shelton said.
At the game, the team chalked the entrance with the seniors’ names and hung posters with their pictures on the fence. The seniors also “got a basket full of framed team pictures, shirts and candy.”
“Because it was senior night, everyone was really into the game and wanted to win badly,” Veoni said. “After McLean scored first, I think we all had more determination to score, and luckily we did shortly after.”
“We are great on positivity and team work and always tell ourselves that the game is not over,” Shelton said. “That’s why we’ve come as far as we have.”
The team defeated South Lakes high school 2-0 on Sept. 30. The victory was head coach Christina Caroll’s 100th win as the coach of Marshall’s varsity field hockey team.
“It was a good game,” Sexton said. “The team played well but it was a challenge, a fun challenge,”
The challenges the team face have positively affected the team record.
“It’s my thirteenth year coaching, and over the past several years the record is better and better,” Carroll said. “We’ve been maintaining our momentum.”
According to Carroll, the team has started off much stronger than last year’s starting record of 7-1 and final record of 14-5.
The South Lakes and McLean games marked the team’s eleventh and twelfth wins of the season, respectively, bringing the team to a 12-1 record.
“We’re a better team than last year and could meet our expectations and go far,” captain Annie Greenwood, senior, said.
Despite its winning record, the team still has room for improvement.
“Even though we have strength to create opportunities and players who have skills, we need more shots on the goal,” Carroll said. “We sometimes come a little flat. During the first ten minutes, we don’t start off at our best.”
The team’s expectations run high according to Sexton. However, “the team gets along really well and is able to balance between hard practices and fun. We have good players in every position rather than having all the good players in one position.”
“The team is pretty fast, determined and hard working,” O’Beirne said. “We’re playing with more energy and we feel like we have something to lose and we’re fighting for it each game.”
The team took on Chantilly High School last Thursday, keeping its winning streak alive by defeating the Chargers 3-1.