Sandwich stands tall in Cape and Islands field hockey championship

SANDWICH — If there was a way to epitomize the run Sandwich’s field hockey program has experienced the last two seasons, it would be sheer domination.

While this year might have featured unique circumstances, the Blue Knights still lived up to their billing. Senior forward Macey White got the wheels turning with a quick goal to start the game, and junior Paige Hawkins added the punctuation mark with a late tally as Sandwich captured its second consecutive Cape and Islands League title with a 2-0 blanking of rival Falmouth Friday.

“This was a tough year,” said Blue Knights coach Kelsey Beaton. “I just said the same speech to (the players). It was a tough year. There’s so much going on, and they won the league championship. We had the one tie, but we went undefeated in the league, and then to cap it off by winning the ‘tournament’ championship… I’m very proud of the team.”

The driving rain may have created difficult field conditions to work with, but it didn’t take long for the Blue Knights (9-1-1) to leave their mark on things. Just seconds into action, White sprinted with the ball through the teeth of the Clippers’ defensive front. The senior then ripped a shot under the pads of Falmouth goaltender Kyleigh Waggett. Before the fans could take their seats in the bleachers, Sandwich had a 1-0 lead at the 1:01 mark.

“Before the game in our little team huddle, we were talking about how we needed to score early to get the vibe,” said White. “It just brings the weight off our shoulders. I just wanted to get one off quick, so that we could be relaxed, and play our game.”

Late in the third quarter, Falmouth had a chance to tie things with a player advantage following a foul call on Sandwich. However, the Blue Knights used suffocating defense to kill the opportunity, providing themselves a bit of momentum going into the final stanza.

The sequence might have decided the outcome. Twenty five seconds into the fourth quarter, Hawkins corralled the ball, and took a hack from 10 yards out. Without touching the ground, the shot whistled through the air and slammed off the backboard of the goal, all but clinching things for Sandwich with 14:25 left.

“(Sandwich) just had the extra push at the end there,” Falmouth coach Courtney Lima said. “The goal that put them up, 2-0, just burst our energy there.”

Sandwich would outshoot Falmouth 5-3 during the game.

Waggett finished with three saves to lead Falmouth in net, a number that Sarah Currey would match for Sandwich.

“Our kids played 150 percent,” said Lima. “I told them at the beginning of the game to leave their cleats out on the field, and that’s exactly what they did. Couldn’t have asked for anything more from them. Truly proud of how we performed, given the fact that we didn’t know we were going to have a season until the beginning of September. To make it to the Cape and Islands League championship is something to be proud of, and hold our head up high.”

It has been a week to remember for White. On Thursday, the senior committed to play at the University of New Hampshire. By Friday night, she was a league champion.

“It’s definitely nice,” White said of the league tournament title. “I wish we could’ve gone to states, because that would’ve been really nice to win the trophy. But I think it’s also nice to win this, because (a league cup championship) has never happened.”

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/35vmQIO