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09/18/2016 12:00 AMThe Westbrook field hockey team is off to a great start in the 2016 season by winning its first three games, all of which were played on the Knights’ home turf. Westbrook shut out Suffield 4-0 on Sept. 10, posted a 5-1 win over Old Saybrook two days later, and then ran its record to 3-0 by defeating Valley Regional 3-1 on Sept. 16.
“We’re very excited with where we’re at this season,” Head Coach Janet Dickey said. “We were rebuilding last year as we didn’t have any seniors on the team and all the girls worked hard to put us back into a position to be successful this year and it’s showing with the early results of these three games.”
One of the things Coach Dickey is most pleased with is her team’s productivity on offense. Westbrook scored nine times between its first two games and that matches the total number of goals the Knights recorded for all of last season.
“Scoring is most definitely the area they’ve improved the most,” she said. “We were not scoring a lot last year, so the desire to score and the ability to score is definitely what they’ve worked on in the offseason. We were very young last year with no seniors on the team so all this work has really shown.”
In the Knights’ 5-1 win victory versus Old Saybrook last week, Zoe Ehlert scored their first goal with an assist from fellow senior captain Alexa Mulvihill, who netted Westbrook’s second goal. Senior Biance Ferrucci later scored the third and final goal of the first half on an assist from sophomore Avery Bauman.
In the second half, freshman Olivia Hartzell assisted Mulvihill’s second goal of the game and then Ferrucci scored her second with an assist from Mulvihill. Ferrucci’s second goal was Dickey’s favorite of the game because of what led up to it.
“Our passing and our ability to transition from defense to attack was great. We had one play where [sophomore Lauren Wright], our flier on the defensive corner, broke out, sent it up field, and, two passes later, we scored,” Dickey said. “That nice, quick transition from a defensive corner to a goal for us is huge. Lauren ran about 65 yards and Biance finished it in front of the net from Alexa. That would be the play of the game in my mind.”
Wright started the game in goal and made one save in the first half, after which sophomore Ingrid Bauman took over and made a save in the second half. Having a pair of young goalies who can give Westbrook quality minutes in the cage is a huge advantage for Coach Dickey’s club.
“We’ve been 50-50 and I think it’s great that we can switch them off. They bring two completely different aspects to the game, so there will be games where Ingrid is more suited in the net and others where Lauren needs to be in there. They both have two different styles and it’s going to depend on the flow of the game and any given day what we need in the net,” she said. “Our goalies are making the saves when they have to, but our greatest defense is to stay on attack, which we’ve done, which has been nice. The defense has done a great job, which is anchored by senior captain Cassie Vitti, which is helpful.”
On Sept. 16, Westbrook topped another Shoreline Conference opponent in Valley Regional by a 3-1 score. Mulvihill scored both goals in the first half and assisted on Avery Bauman’s in the second. Mulvihill has been all over the field by both scoring and assisting on goals in the season’s early going.
“Alexa has always been a scoring threat. It’s just a matter of how much she has the ball and what she can do with it. She really worked on developing her ball handling and shot abilities,” Dickey said. “She has almost as many assists as goals and, if she’s covered, she knows she can pass to those that are open and let them score. It’s very mature for an athlete to find someone with a better shot.”
Ferrucci and Ehlert also had assists in the win versus Valley, while Wright recorded six saves to earn the victory.
Through her team’s first three games, Coach Dickey is pleased with the leadership that her seniors have displayed as the Knights look to make some noise in the Shoreline Conference this fall.
“I think it’s huge that Zoe and Alexa were captains last year and again this year. I think it leads to continuity,” Dickey said. “We have the three senior captains, plus Biance has been scoring goals and Lauren Kane has done a phenomenal job at midfield for us. Having those five seniors that have really matured are helping anchor us down which has been awesome.”