Scholastic Notes
New England region
Massachusetts
WALPOLE'S WILD RIDE REACHES EMOTIONAL END
In the end, there were the tears of joy coming from everyone wearing the navy and Carolina blue of the Walpole field hockey team.
But there was so much motivation that the exultations were perhaps as volcanic and true as any in Penny Calf's decades at the helm.
First, there was all the rumor and speculation about Calf's retirement.
"It's probably time to step down, but I honestly don't know yet," she told the assembled media after the game. "The girls will be the first to hear about it when we have our banquet (in February 2002). That at least gives me some time to decide what I'm going to do."
Then, there was the motivation of losing in 2000 to Somerset (Mass.). That was answered in a crushing 4-0 win in a rematch in the Division I South quarterfinals.
And if that wasn't enough, there were some Y chomosomes to overcome in a playoff game against Sandwich (Mass.) two days later in The Porker Pen.
In Massachusetts, boys are allowed to play alongside girls in varsity field hockey games. The road to the state final was to be paved with boys like Sandwich midfielders Nate Coolidge and Christopher Poither, who teamed up on a blistering corner blast that gave Sandwich the lead in the third minute.
Previous to the game, Calf predicted that top gun McDavitt would run circles around any boy in their way. Now, it was time to prove that statement.
The Porkers methodically worked their way back into the contest by the interval, then hammered home two corners and a field goal to win 4-1.
"It was one of our hardest games all year. The intensity was so high, and we really came through to answer the challenge, " Walpole's Christine Nannicelli said after the contest. "I think we were focusing on the fact that there were guys on the team too much. We didn�t really step up right away because of that. But we definitely overcame that."
But perhaps the top motivation comes from the Calf household. Jack Calf, husband of the head coach, passed away shortly before the 2001 season. The team dedicated its season to his memory, and promised a Division I title. And delivered.
Connecticut
CHESHIRE SCRAMBLES GUILFORD IN 'L' FINAL
It's called "The Scramble," borrowed from basketball.
In the 77th minute of the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC) final between Cheshire (Conn.) and Guilford (Conn.), the top-seeded Cheshire Rams used a good number of their available six field players to line up at the top of the circle.
Once Dana Hyland's insertion pass found teammate Ashley Parker, the scramble was on. Parker fired the ball towards the goal cage.
"We've been practicing corners on turf," Parker said. "On grass, the field's always bouncy and I have a little trouble stopping it. But on turf the flat passes always come out and it's a faster game. Dana sent out a great pass. We got the initial shot on goal and then the rebound. That's what our forwards are there for."
The initial shot was saved, but Melissa Bowman was left all alone at the doorstep. Her short shot gave Cheshire head coach Arlene Salvati her 419th and final win at the school; she becomes an assistant principal at a neighboring school in 2002.
KILLING(WORTH) THEM SOFTLY
Real estate can be pretty pricey in some regions of Connecticut, especially when it comes to the price the athletic teams of Higganum Haddam-Killingworth (Conn.) is concerned.
Construction on the athletic fields at the school has dragged on, to the point where all of the school's teams -- except the football team -- will be playing all road games in the fall of 2001.
The space crunch started the last week of August, just as drops of rain began falling on practice.
"We've practicing at the Killingworth Elementary school," head coach Patty Kamercia tells The Middletown Press. "It's a little recreation field ..nowhere near regulation. I don't know what we're going to do when it rains. This year we'll probably have to cancel (practice) when it rains because we can't go in the field house."
The Cougars, who finished 6-3-4 in 2000, will be hard-pressed to match that record in 2001.
"I don't know when we're going to be on the field again," Kamercia said.
Vermont
COSMOS COME BACK TO EARTH
Springfield (Vt.) had a brush with glory in 2000 when it made the Class 2 Final Four. However, when you graduate as many seniors as Joy Benson did (the entire starting lineup), the result for the season opener was inevitable.
Playing on the road at Windsor, the Cosmos were soundly beaten 4-0 and outshot 21-0. It could have been worse but for fullback Maddie Patoine and goalkeeper Brooke Baird.
"Maddie played well, and you can't ask for anything more (from Brooke)," Benson told The Rutland Herald. "But we're a young and inexperienced group, so they've got to get some confidence in themselves."
Maine
YORK SURVIVES CAPE ELIZABETH'S CHALLENGE
You can't blame Barb Marois if she wanted to be on the field as her York (Maine) field hockey team went deeper and deeper into overtime against Downeast rival Cape Elizabeth.
And you could almost see her will the game-winning goal over the line, off the leg of the Capers' last defender, Kaityln Martin.
Such is life after a decade on the U.S. women's national field hockey team -- willing the next generation to succeed.
"Anything can happen," Marois told the Portland Press-Herald after the 2-1 win, "and we took advantage of that everything."
The Wildcats, at 4-0, are putting themselves in good position to challenge for the state's Class B crown. What will be key for the team is their attack, which did let them down on several occasions before York's Becky Wacker (great name for a field hockey player, isn't it?) tied the game in the 53rd minute.
"We struggled a little bit here and there with our poise," said Marois. "But we still kept battling, and luckily we didn't give them too many more opportunities (after yielding the first goal)."
For last year's notes, click here.