LYNN ― The Bishop Fenwick Crusaders field hockey team got the better of their rival, the St. Mary’s Spartans as they tallied a 4-0 victory on Tuesday at Manning Field.
Bishop Fenwick put pressure on the Spartans early on, but head coach Victoria Ault’s side showed their defensive skills and withstood the constant barrage from the Crusaders. Still, Ault said after the match that, defensively, the group started the match “asleep.”
Bishop Fenwick would get a corner in the first five minutes and it took advantage of the opportunity, going up 1-0 with a beautiful hit shot from captain Emily McPhail that found the back of the net. The Crusaders had multiple opportunities from the corner but failed to extend their lead with additional chances in the eighth, ninth, and 12th minutes. Spartans goalie Adri Bowkey made some impressive stops, including a diving save at the end of the second quarter that kept Lynnfield in the match.
Corners have not always been a strong suit for the Crusaders, so head coach Marybeth Mahoney was pleased to see the squad find the back of the net.
“We’ve definitely had a lot of games where we weren’t converting, so we’ve just talked a little bit about looking up before you initiate whatever you are going to do and I think they did a good job of doing that a little later in the game,” she said.
After the match, Ault said that Bowkey had a great performance against Fenwick, especially for someone who has never played field hockey before.
“For her first year out as goalie, I’m really impressed with her skills and her ability to stop as many (shots) as she did,” said the head coach. “Yesterday she had 10 saves against (Bishop) Feehan; today she did a hell of a job against (Bishop) Fenwick.”
The Spartans found success on the counter, catching Bishop Fenwick off guard. With 11 minutes left in the second quarter, Yirsy Queliz had St. Mary’s first scoring opportunity but the shot went wide in the near post.
The Crusaders got another corner with five minutes left in the second quarter, but the Spartans’ defense once again stood strong and was able to dispossess Bishop Fenwick.
The second half started just like the first, with the Crusaders continuing to put the Spartans defense under constant pressure. Bowkey continued to make some great saves but there was nothing she could do four minutes into the third quarter as Rayne Millett lofted a shot into the net. Moments later, Emma Perry found the back of the net to make it a 3-0 lead for Bishop Fenwick.
St. Mary’s corner conundrum followed it into the second half as they continued to allow the Crusaders to get quality scoring chances.
Bishop Fenwick found the back of the net once again in the third quarter with Sam Montecalvo scoring as time expired and giving the Crusaders a 4-0 lead heading into the final quarter.
The Spartans fell to 4-2-2 and are back at Manning Field Wednesday (3:45) as they face Austin Prep.
Bishop Fenwick is now 7-1-2 and will look to get its eighth win of the season Thursday (4) when it faces Bishop Feehan.
