SPORTS

Pats riding win streak into playoffs

By ALEX SPONSELLER
Posted 10/19/22

The Pilgrim field hockey team closed out it’s a regular season with a 3-1 win over visiting Smithfield on Tuesday afternoon.

The two teams were scoreless through the first half, but the Pats …

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SPORTS

Pats riding win streak into playoffs

Posted

The Pilgrim field hockey team closed out it’s a regular season with a 3-1 win over visiting Smithfield on Tuesday afternoon.

The two teams were scoreless through the first half, but the Pats would find their rhythm in the third quarter and put up three goals to set the score to 3-0 heading into the fourth. Although Smithfield was able to get a goal back in the final frame, it would not be enough as Pilgrim sealed the deal.

Despite not scoring in the first half, Pilgrim played a strong 30 minutes and peppered the Smithfield goal. Between shots that narrowly missed and some timely Smithfield saves, Pilgrim’s mindset and approach remained the same heading into the second.

“They just kept working. All season we’ve been saying that if you get the ball to the net, good things will happen. It’s about positioning and being in the right spot to get those goals. That has been our focus at practice. The more you get the ball to the net the greater chance you have of scoring,” said Pilgrim coach Stephanie Shields after the win.

Pilgrim’s first goal came from senior Mary Centracchio when she knocked it through a scrum in front of the Smithfield cage with 5:07 left in the third. Elizabeth Cavanagh and Ava Schobel added goals in the final two minutes of the quarter to extend the lead to 3-0.

“We just started working as a team and put our mind to it. Once we started doing that, the team chemistry came back and it started to work (in the third quarter),” Centracchio said. “We knew it was going to be a tough game coming in, we only beat them 1-0 last time and it was a battle the whole game. Going into playoffs, we needed this went under our belt.”

Smithfield scored in the opening minute of the fourth, but the Pilgrim defense would buckle down in the final 11 minutes to secure the win. Goalie Colby Lavoie finished with six saves in the cage for the Pats.

Pilgrim has also been rolling defensively as of late, allowing just one goal in its past three contests. Shields has been impressed with her team’s defense as well as the steady play of Lavoie.

“The defense has been working hard and we have a good goalie and Colby who is a senior. She’s a three-year starter so she has good skills and is strong in net for us. Things are starting to fall in place for us at the right time heading into playoffs,” said Shields.

Pilgrim will now flip the page toward the start of next week’s postseason. The Pats wrapped up the regular season with a 7-2 league record which has them seeded in the second spot in their division. Chariho sits in first place, but still has games remaining on its schedule. Pilgrim’s only league losses came against the Chargers.

After an up and down 2021 season, Shields and company are excited to be back in the playoffs and in position to make a run at a title. Pilgrim is riding some momentum heading into the next leg of the race as it has mounted a three-game win streak.

“(These last three wins) were very important for us and we wanted to make sure that we were in good position and playing our best at the end of the season,” said Shields. “It’s a nice feeling and that’s what they’ve been working hard for. Covid put us back a little bit so it is nice to be back in this position.”

Pats, hockey

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