Hall field hockey defeated crosstown West Hartford rival Northwest Catholic 3-1 on Thursday afternoon.

Sports reporting is sponsored by Keating Agency Insurance

By Paul Palmer

Katie Cykley scored two goals as Hall overcame a slow start to beat Northwest Catholic 3-1 in a girls field hockey matchup Thursday.

The Lions (5-5-2-1) and Titans (8-4-0-1) played much of the opening quarter in the midfield area with a lot of one-on-one matchups. Neither team was able to get much pressure on the other teams goal as things end 0-0. “We have a habit of starting slow, but then we build from there,” said Hall head coach Ellie Tate.

It was Northwest that picked up its game in the second quarter as the Lions had the better of possession in the attacking zone for much of the 15 minutes. With just under 1 minute to play, Hall countered and Emily Leahey scored the game’s opening goal. It came when Leahey deflected a shot from senior captain Lucy Gwiazdoski past Northwest goalie Madeline Zybert.

The host Titans had a chance to double the lead as time expired in the first. They had two untimed corners following a foul as time expired. The defense for the Lions held tough and managed to keep it out of their net.

The visitors would even the score just 1:40 into the second half when Mary Peters converted on an assist from Marleigh Blake. The goal came off an earned corner for Northwest. The Lions kept possession of the ball off the corner setting up the score.

It did not take Hall long to regain the lead as Cykley scored the first of her two goals on the day to cap off a long possession. “I thought we had some beautiful combinations today and did a really good job distributing from the back,” Tate said.

Ava Leahey picked up the assist on the goal. Neither team was able to add to the score before the end of the third and Hall carried the 2-1 lead into the final 15 minutes.

Sophomore forward Jane Hennessey’s solo effort helped set up the game’s final goal. The forward carried the ball into the attack zone, carrying the ball around several defenders to put the Titans in a scoring position. After a shot was blocked, the ball was loose in front of Zybert’s goal and Cykley was there to bang it home.

“Once our team finds its confidence, nothing can stop them,” said Tate. Hall nearly added another goal on another try by Cykley, but Zybert was there to make the stop. “Northwest always gives us a competitive game and we were excited for the rivalry,” Tate said.

Lucia Diaz had a solid game for Northwest, playing strong defense and stopping many Hall rushes before they could amount to anything. In Hall’s net, sophomore Corinn Fabas did not face a lot of shots, but managed to come up big when her team needed her.

“I think we are right on target and getting more confident every game,” said Hall’s coach. “We have had some heart breakers but we learned lessons from them.”

Both teams should be in good positions to make the post-season. Northwest will finish the season with games against sub .500 Avon and Lewis Mills sandwiched around an Oct. 16 matchup with 10-3-1 Conard, which is ninth in Class L. Hall is one spot behind the Red Wolves and has games with the same three opponents as Northwest Catholic.

The Hall-Conard showdown will take place under the lights on the Titans home turf on Oct.  22, with a 6:30 p.m. start time.

Game notes

Thursday’s matchup was Hall field hockey’s Pink Out game. The annual contest helps draw attention to and raise funds to battle and raise awareness of breast cancer. In addition to wearing a special pink jersey for the game, the Titan players had added pink to their hair and in ribbons they wore. “Every person knows someone impacted by breast cancer,” said Hall coach Ellie Tate. “Being able to raise awareness and funds, we just feed off that energy.”

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