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By Michael Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor
After a hard fought victory at Dedham last Tuesday, the Wellesley High varsity field hockey team returned home to face Bay State Conference foe Braintree on Thursday afternoon, September 29, at Sprague Field.
The Raiders (5-3-1) played lockdown defense on Thursday evening against the visiting Wamps but were unable to find the back of the net, and for that, the game ended in a 0-0 draw.
Goalie Sinclaire Vandemier (three saves) recorded her second shut out of the season for the Raiders, including a sprawling kick save late in the game to rob an incredible point blank scoring chance for Braintree, keeping the Wamps off the board and preserving the tie for Wellesley.
Brooke Hamilton passes the ball on a Raider corner attempt early in the first half.
Ling Geroccia (8) and Luisa Coakley (14) go to lineup for the start of the second half.
Brook Hamilton and Ling Gerrocia arguably had the two best scoring chances of the afternoon for Wellesley with shots that beat the Braintree goaltender but still trickled just past the outside of the post and stayed out of the net, keeping the Raiders off the scoreboard.
Sophie Vandervilde and Cat Donahue helped keep the Braintree offense in check with each of the two accumulating multiple pass break-ups throughout the game.
Wellesley head coach Erin Howe stated afterwards that she loved her team’s defensive efforts, but also said that they have some work to do offensively.
“We struggled on the offensive side,” said Howe. “The chances were there as we had 20 corners and a couple of break aways, we just had a hard time finishing and getting the ball into good scoring areas. We definitely need to work on our ability to execute.”
“The girls did a good job of locking down the middle,” said Howe. “The strength of our team all year has been our ability to defend and make the opponent work for their shots, we definitely kept that up today.”
When asked about the play of her goaltender, Howe praised Vandemier for her late save.
“She’s awesome,” said Howe. “That save she made late was huge as she came out of her net and cut down the angle really well. We probably don’t get out of here with the tie if she doesn’t have such a strong knowledge of the game.”
