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By Michael Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor
The Wellesley High field hockey team extended their season with a 2-1 victory over Bay State Conference foe Braintree in the first round of the MIAA Division 1 South Field Hockey Tournament on Friday afternoon at Sprague Field.
The eighth-seeded Raiders got off to a great start against the nine-seeded Wamps, keeping the ball away from their net and attacking the opposing end of the field.
Braintree was quick to respond, however, tying the game moments later on an odd-man rush up the field.
With just under five minutes to play in the first half, Brooke Hamilton gave the Raiders back the lead when she tipped another Cat Donahue shot off of a penalty corner attempt into the back of the Braintree net, giving Wellesley a 2-1 lead at the half.
Sometimes, the best type of defense in any sport is a sustainable offense, and the Raiders exemplified that perfectly during Friday afternoon’s game against Braintree. Right out of the gate in the second half, Wellesley controlled the tempo and held the ball in Braintree territory. When Braintree was able to move the ball up onto the Raider side of the field, the Wellesley girls were quick to adjust their positioning and thwarted any type of scoring opportunities that could come about for Braintree by clearing the ball down the field.
Wellesley goaltender Sinclaire Vandemier made three saves in the second half and along with stellar defensive play from her midfield and defenders, the Raiders were able to preserve the 2-1 lead until the final whistle and move onto the quarterfinals against Dennis-Yarmouth next week.
The Raiders come together and mob goalkeeper Sinclaire Vandemier (00) following their 2-1 victory over Braintree on Friday. Photos by Michael Flanagan
Following the match, head coach Erin Howe called Friday’s win a total team effort and went on to praise her midfield for their play on both ends of the field.
“It was important for us to play as a team and for us all to show up and give the necessary effort today,” said Howe. “We did that today it and resulted in a winning result. Defense was huge and our midfield really made the difference today. They kept the ball away from our net and did a great job of moving the ball up the field and generating chances for our offense.”
Howe also stated that her team learned from their previous meeting with Braintree on October 3 and that the Raiders were rewarded on offense due to their hard work in practice.
“The last time we played Braintree we had 20 corners and didn’t score on any of them and the game ended in a 0-0 tie,” said Howe. “We spent a lot of time addressing that throughout the last few weeks and it paid off today with both our goals coming off of corner attempts, which is something I hope we can build off of moving forward and into next week’s game.”
