COLONY – Friday marked the end of the Suburban Council’s regular field hockey season for Guilderland and Shenendehowa. Although Lady Dutch struck quickly, that wouldn’t be enough to deprive the league-leading Plainsmen of a ninth consecutive victory.
Rachel Sterle and Molly Miller scored goals in the fourth quarter as Shenendehowa put in a superlative second-half performance with a 3-1 victory over Guilderland at Afrim Sports Park. The league title is exactly what Shenendehowa wanted for outgoing coach Jeanne Frevola.
“It’s great. We wanted to do really well with this being (from Frevola) last season,” said Hannah Merritt, junior from Shenendehowa. “We wanted to do well and win the championship for her.”
“I think the energy level is right through the roof,” Sterle said. “I think everyone is connecting and working together. We are improving every practice. We are working together as one big family.”
Shenendehowa (11-1) spotted Guilderland (7-5) on an immediate score from Ava Thomson, just the third goal conceded by the Plainsmen in their winning streak. By comparison, Shenendehowa has scored 48 goals in the nine-game period since losing a 1-0 shootout verdict to Burnt Hills.
“They really came out really strong,” Merritt said of Lady Dutch.
“I was a little worried when they scored, but I knew my team would come back,” Sterle said. “The coach gave us a lecture (at halftime). We know we can do better. It wasn’t our best. We came back and the energy was there.”
Merritt tied the game in the second quarter with a pass from Miller.
The final 30 minutes was up to the visitors, with the bulk of the action being contested in Guilderland’s defensive end. The possession time advantage is something Frevola liked.
“The pass was wonderful. We worked a lot on it,” said Frevola. “In the second half they really opened the field and worked together. They supported each other and I thought the Guilderland goalkeeper (Bianca Simeone) did a great job. She made some great saves and kept the balloon alive. I’m just proud we didn’t give up because we were cold at the start. “
Simeone made two brilliant saves in the third quarter to ward off quality shots from Julia Kuzmich and Lauren Shanahan.
Early in the fourth quarter, Sterle converted a Kuzmich setup to make it 2-1.
“It came back to me and I pushed it,” said Sterle, who signed his national letter of intent on Wednesday to play his college field hockey at Syracuse University.
Guilderland managed to generate offensive pressure after falling behind, but the Plainsmen were finally able to extend their lead to two goals when Miller completed a 3-1 breakaway four minutes after Sterle’s goal.
“They play a really good game and always play hard when they need to,” Merritt said of Guilderland. “We played a lot better in the second half.”
There is no section tournament awaiting these two teams, but they will participate in the Suburb Council tournament which begins on Monday.
After watching Guilderland win his first section title in 2019, Merritt said the Plainsmen are taking the league tournament seriously.
“We’re going to play as sections and do our best,” Merritt said. “We will try to win.”
