Junior defender Abby Wayne (2) gathers the ball in the defensive end and smacks it up field. Photos by Mike Flanagan.
By Mike Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor
Dover-Sherborn High School varsity field hockey hosted Dedham on Wednesday night for the Raiders annual senior night.
Despite entering on the heels of back-to-back losses to Holliston and Medway, a win against the Marauders (10-4-2) would spring the Raiders (6-6-0, 5-5-0) right back into the race for the TVL Small title with four regular season games remaining.
Along with the opportunity to take a significant leap in the standings, the Raiders honored their 2021-2022 class of seniors in their annual senior night.
With emotions high, the game began with Dedham carrying the majority of play. A series of penalty corner tries in the early-going were turned away, thanks to some incredible saves in net by senior captain and goalie Loren Root.
With 5:15 to play in the first quarter, the Marauders finally broke through on Root. Following a save by Root on a penalty corner, Dedham's Trinity Vo gathered the rebound and lofted a backhanded shot on cage that was batted out of the air by teammate Connie Doyle. Doyle's shot made its way through the five-hole of Root and into the back of the net to give Dedham a 1-0 lead.
Still scoreless with time winding down in the quarter, it appeared as if Dedham had doubled their lead to 2-0 when Doyle hit home a rebound off a penalty corner try. DS caught a big break, as with no time left on the clock and the corner try being played untimed, the shot by Doyle was deemed to have occurred after the corner try had ended, taking the goal off the board and keeping it a 1-0 game at the end of one. The second and third quarters saw little action, but a sprawling save by Root on a loose ball at the net-mouth with about three minutes to play in the third kept the Raiders in the game.
Still 1-0 Dedham late, the Marauders stacked bodies in the middle of the field and continually cleared the ball out of their own end. DS was unable to penetrate the defensive wall set up by Dedham as the Marauders preserved the 1-0 shutout win.
For funny and incisive sports analysis as well as video highlights of games, follow Mike Flanagan on his personal Twitter and Instagram handles @flano0.
