Field Hockey | 10/2/2021 6:41:00 PM
ONEONTA, NY – As the Hartwick field hockey team opened their Empire 8 campaign at home vs. Houghton on Saturday, the Hawks came out in their blue uniforms flying high and fast. 'Wick was looking to continue their domination of the Highlanders after last year's 3-0 Empire 8 Semifinal win. The past eight regular season meetings between the Hawks and Highlanders had all been one-goal games, half of which went to overtime or a shootout. But similar to their most recent meeting, the Hawks scored multiple first-half goals and dominated the shot column, 18-0 in the first and 33-7 in the game, en route to a 5-1 win. Hartwick advances to 5-2 on the year and 2-0 in Empire 8 play, while the Highlanders drop to 3-6 overall and 2-2 in conference.
From the opening whistle, the Hawks came out flying, playing on their offensive side of the midway line for the opening eight minutes of the first quarter. It was not until the minute mark where a
Sydney Gagnon (Chestertown, NY/North Warren Central) shot was saved, and a penalty corner was assessed soon after. A
Rebecca Peakes (West Chester, PA/Unionville) corner led to another saved Gagnon shot, but the rebound found the stick of
Holly Calore (Rocky Point, NY/Rocky Point) on the doorstep for the first goal of the game. Hartwick was assessed a penalty stroke with 36 seconds left in the corner and
Libby Fortin (State College, PA/State College Area) made no mistake, finding the back of the net with a top-right snipe to make the score 2-0.
The second period stayed in favor of the Hawks, but the scoreboard still read zeroes. The Highlanders had the best chance of the quarter, with a breakaway by Rebekkah Davie after a Hawks misplay, but excellent defending from
Emily Strutt (Pleasant Valley, NY/Arlington) sent the ball back the other way. The Hawks held Houghton to zero shots on the period.
A scoreless second quarter would not stop the Hawks and they stayed hot in the third. A beautiful give-and-go play between
Julie Ruzzi (High Falls, NY/Rondout Valley) and Gagnon off a corner made the score 3-0 Hawks on a Gagnon top right tally. To many, it seemed as if the game was over early, but with their first corner of the day, the Highlanders capitalized and made it known that they might be down but were not out. Just like the Hawks, the Highlanders' goal came off a Deborah Cross blocked shot that fell onto the wood of Peyton Bentley who tapped it in for Houghton's first goal of the game.
With a 1 on the scoreboard, the Hawks needed to respond, and it was Captain Gagnon with the Hawks' second penalty stroke of the day that found the back of the net in the 44th minute to make the score 4-1. The final nail in the coffin for the Highlanders was once again a penalty stroke, this one scored by
Chrissy Boeltz (Greene, NY/Greene Central) in the 53rd minute, making the game 5-1.
Gagnon led the way for the Hawks, tallying a career-high 13 shots and a pair of goals.
Emily Schaub (Brewster, NY/Brewster) was next with five shots, and Fortin followed behind with four shots including her goal.
Hartwick is back at it tomorrow at 11 a.m., taking on Russell Sage at Afrim's Sports Park in Colonie, New York.