By: Brayden Peters
WILLIAMSVILLE, NY - The Barker Bulldogs field hockey team suffered their first loss of the season, as they were shutout 6-0 by the Williamsville North Spartans. It was a tough day for Barker's offense as they only took three shots, one of which was on goal, while only having two corners today.
"We knew we were going into a game that was going to be tough competition," Barker head coach Karin Menz said. "Because Will (Williamsville) North has been playing very well, so we wanted it to be an opportunity for us to grow our skills and our game against some great competition. That was our primary goal for tonight...We saw a lot of good things out of our players that we haven't seen before."
The Spartans had the ball in the offensive zone for most of the game compared to Barker. Other than the six goals that the Bulldogs' defense gave up, they faced 15 shots, eight of which were on goal. The defense, though, was able to create a good few turnovers that helped limit the number of scoring chances.
"They were able to anticipate the shots coming in and moving to those and really pushing out strong when they (Willimasville North) were getting a hold of that ball," Menz said. "And just making great opportunities to get the ball out of the circle. And I think that anticipating is a huge piece of defensive play."
Both sides started off slow in the first quarter as a lot of turnovers were created in the middle of the field from both sides. However, the Spartans broke the sole with 11:53 left to go as Morgan Lippa buried the ball right of goalie Adeline Atwater.
Although the Bulldogs stayed strong defensively inside of their own scoring circle, they were unable to move the ball into Spartans territory. It wasn't until around the five minute mark in the first quarter where they were able to get into the offensive zone.
Before that, Williamsville North added onto their lead. Sophia DePrima buried a shot right of Atwater to extend the Spartans' lead to 2-0.
The Bulldogs made some progress in the opening minutes of the second quarter. They were able to move the ball into offensive territory more consistently, although they failed to enter the scoring circle.
Williamsville North didn't lose a step on offense. DePrima buried a backhand shot to record her second goal of the game.
She added onto her total with less than two minutes in the second quarter. She buried a low shot right of Atwater to complete the hat trick, giving Williamsville North a 4-0 lead.
Barker got their first corner of the game in the opening minutes of the third quarter to start things off. However, they couldn't get a shot off as the Spartans' defense kept the ball in front of them. Soon enough, DePrima recorded her fourth goal of the game on a low shot to give the Spartans a 5-0 lead.
With less than six minutes to go in the third quarter, the Bulldogs had one of their best scoring opportunities of the game. Ella Gancasz had possession in the middle of the scoring circle in Williamsville North territory. However, Addy Mulone poked the ball away from Gancasz and helped the Spartans move the ball into Barker's end of the field.
"Definitely need stronger passes," Gancasz said. "Talking, cutting more, just getting down the field."
The Bulldogs offense was mostly silent in the fourth quarter. Williamsville North had a strong forecheck allowing them to create more scoring chances and chew the clock.
The Spartans continued to pour it on. Alena Lombardo buried a shot past Atwater to give the Spartans a 6-0 lead.
With 33 seconds left, Barker had a chance to avoid the shutout. However, Delaney Cline stretched out her right leg to make a huge save and time soon ran out, giving the Spartans the win.
Barker drops to 3-1 this season with the loss. They'll hope to bounce back when they hit the road to take on Medina on Monday at 7 p.m.
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