GREENE – The developments from Saturday’s Section IV Class C field hockey final can only serve as bad news for Greene’s future opponents.
Ailing senior Emily Conroe, who might have been better served getting treatment for her balky back and hip than playing in frigid conditions, had a goal and an assist, while a brand-new penalty corner play, drawn up just a couple of days earlier, worked to perfection in a 4-0 Trojans shutout of perennial power Marathon.
Unbeaten at 16-0, the veteran-laden Trojans are still developing and adjusting as it enters the state playoffs on the heels of a seventh straight Section IV title. “This group is on a mission this year,” said longtime head coach Sue Carlin. “We know now that it’s one game at a time and we need to keep our focus as we prepare for the next team.”
Hard to believe a team with so many players with state playoff experience would experience a case of the jitters. Carlin said as much after the game as her club struggled early on against the aggressive Olympians. “I think nerves got the best of us,” Carlin said. “Once we settled in and got over that, we played great.”
Greene did not make use of its good scoring opportunities early in the game, but found the mark on a penalty corner with 4:03 left in the first half. Emma Anderson sent the initial pass to Jahna Driscoll at the top of the circle. Driscoll’s hard shot was tipped in by junior Katherine Klecha.
Coming out of halftime, it was a charged-up Olympians club that created early scoring chances. Marathon had three straight penalty corners over a 65-second span, but failed to get a shot on goal in any of them.
With 9 1/2 minutes expired, the veteran combination of Conroe and Driscoll, both of whom played on the 2009 state championship club, combined on their team’s second goal. Conroe sent a pass to Driscoll, who split the Marathon defense and beat Marathon goalie Emily Morley on a one-on-one play.
Conroe, who sat a portion of the first half to rest her back, showed no ill effects on the picture-perfect third goal, a play that originated from the creative mind of assistant coach Christine McCabe. After Anderson’s entry pass reached Driscoll, she flipped to the right to defender Collen Dietrich. Dietrich made a perfect crossing pass to Conroe. Conroe paused to settle herself, then drove a low, hard shot into the right side of the cage.
Battled the same injury all season, it was no surprise to Carlin that Conroe insinuated herself in a pair of scoring plays. “She’s definitely hurting,” Carlin said, “but was able to get loose during halftime. There’s no keeping her down.”
