By: Brayden Peters
BROCKPORT, NY - The winning streak stays alive for the Brockport Golden Eagles field hockey team, as a 4-0 win over the Keuka Wolves pushes their streak to three games. Three of Brockport’s goals came in the second half with two of them coming from senior forward Paige Thowe.
“Just doing what we know how to do, and playing really disciplined,” Thowe said. “Setting ourselves up for success. More so in being smart with the ball.”
Brockport recorded 46 shots on the day with 30 of them being on goal.
“Just work together and use our passes over carrying,” Brockport head coach Krista Archambeau said. “They’re (Keuka) strong on defense, and there’s multiple people on the ball, so just passing around them and going into the goal. But as always, we just like being selfless and making our teammates look good, especially around the goal and passing around them.”
As for the Wolves, they only had six shots with two of them being saved by senior goalie Ella Buchanan. Today marks her third shutout of the season.
Both sides opened the first quarter applying pressure in the offensive zone. For the first three minutes, both teams entered the o-zone two consecutive times. However, turnovers eliminated any chance of scoring.
The Golden Eagles began to settle in, though, as they started to create turnovers in enemy territory and got shots off. With 10 minutes left in the first quarter, Brockport took two shots. They added onto that total with eight more shots, six of which were on goal. The Wolves were only able to muster one shot.
Brockport continued to push the ball into the Wolves’ territory. Fouls caused multiple changes of possession. The Golden Eagles recorded 18 fouls compared to Keuka’s five fouls in the quarter. Going into the game, Brockport also led in fouls in the Empire 8 with 270.
“Just need to possess the ball more and limit our time on defense,” Archambeau said. “We’re great at our offensive movement and when we’re working together, so controlling the ball as much as we can.”
The Golden Eagles came out of the gates firing in the second quarter. They were able to keep the ball in enemy territory thanks to a solid forecheck. Also, they got five shots off, three of which were on net, before Keuka was able to move the ball out of their own zone.
Keuka’s senior goalie Jordan Nichols continued to be problematic for Brockport. By almost the two minute mark in the second quarter, she had 13 saves on 13 shots faced.
The Wolves started to get into a rhythm offensively. They had a perfect 2-on-1 chance with a little under seven minutes in the quarter. Buchanan made a clutch pad save on a shot from senior forward Kirstin Billings.
With just under two minutes left in the quarter, Brockport snapped the scoreless tie. Thowe ripped a shot past Nichols from the shooting circle.
“It was really relieving because we were knocking on the door, getting shots off,” Thowe said. “But finally, we finished, and that was a nice feeling to just get one on the board.”
The start of the second quarter was similar to the third quarter. Brockport applied heavy pressure offensively and had a solid forecheck. They were able to pepper Nichols with three shots, but she stayed strong between the pipes and was able to make some acrobatic saves.
Keuka would eventually succumb to the pressure. Graduate forward Samantha Choate buried the ball left of Nichols, extending Brockport’s lead to 2-0.
Minutes later, freshman forward Allison Greene deflected a shot from senior midfielder Kelsey Zehr that trickled left of Nichols and into the net. With her goal, Greene is now tied for the conference lead in goals with nine.
“It feels good,” Greene said. “I wouldn’t be able to do it without my team, because we all rely on each other. So, without them, none of it would be possible.”
Brockport continued to make things tough for Keuka on offense in the fourth quarter. Thowe buried another shot left of Nichols with less than three minutes to go, increasing the deficit to 4-0. Outside of the goal, the Golden Eagles had six shots in the quarter with five of them being on goal. The Wolves were unable to put a goal on the board before the end of the game, sealing the shutout win for Brockport.
The Golden Eagles improved to a 7-3 record and remain undefeated in conference play with a 3-0 record. They are now tied for first place in the Empire 8 with Geneseo.
Brockport will look to extend their winning streak to four games when they go to the University of Albany to take on Russell Sage on Saturday. The game is scheduled to start at 3 p.m.
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