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Field Hockey's Improvement Shows in Pair of Rallies

Even though the North Haven field hockey team has had a rough year, Coach Kim Bouffard credited her athletes for giving their all in every game while progressing throughout the campaign. The squad’s improvement was evident in two recent rallies at home—the first against Sheehan that saw North Haven score its first two goals of the season and earn a 2-2 tie, after which the Indians came back to tie Sacred Heart Academy before losing 3-2 in overtime.

Against Sheehan, the Titans scored the game’s first goal before senior captain Abby Tantorski tied it on an assist from junior and fellow forward Brooke Balzano with six minutes to go in the first half.

The game stayed locked at 1 at halftime, but then the Titans retook the lead by scoring with 14 minutes left. With just 1:30 to go, sophomore midfielder Hope Marino scored from senior captain defender Molly Benson off a corner play to make it 2-2 and send the game to overtime. The 10-minute extra session was played 7-on-7 and, although North Haven didn’t net the game-winner, Coach Bouffard and company were satisfied to leave the field with the tie, especially considering they had previously lost to Sheehan 4-0.

“Honestly, it felt like a victory for our program and was a weight lifted off our shoulders,” said Bouffard, whose team received 18 saves in the cage from junior Rylee Bathrick. “I was pumped and the kids were pumped. They fought hard, played with a lot of intensity, and worked together to get that last goal.”

The game also marked the Indians’ Senior Night and a chance to honor the team’s three seniors—who are all captains—in Tantorski, Benson, and midfielder Alexa Mastriano.

“They were our only returning varsity players and brought experience to the team while being positive as a group,” Bouffard said.

Then versus Sacred Heart Academy, Tantorski scored from Marino and Benson for a 1-0 lead, after which the Pacers tied it 1-1.

SHA went up 2-1 with 7:30 remaining, but the Indians responded when Tantorski scored from Benson off a corner play to knot it with 1:44 to go. The Pacers then scored in overtime to win it.

“We came back again and this was a good way to end the season,” said Bouffard. “This team always gives 150 percent and doesn’t give up and that’s what I love about them.”

Between the Sheehan and SHA contests, North Haven took a 4-0 loss at Amity and a 3-0 defeat at Mercy. Although North Haven did not win a game this season, Coach Bouffard still feels the program has made some headway in her initial campaign at the helm and feels that offseason work will be key for the team to have a better campaign in 2015.

“Even though it doesn’t show in the win column, the skill level of every kid on this team has improved,” she said. “We’ve worked hard and committed ourselves and that’s going to continue with some offseason conditioning and winter leagues.”