Trojans will take on Newark Valley Saturday
MARATHON – Teamwork. An eight letter word that an only describe the Lady Trojans 5-0 win over the host Marathon Olympians Tuesday afternoon – a victory that will see Greene’s head coach Christine Battaglini and her squad in the Section IV Class C Field Hockey Championship for the first time of her coaching career.
But like many coaches, Battaglini gave all the credit to her players. “I’m so happy for the girls,” Battalgini said after the game. “I thought they played so well together as there were many great passing combinations all over the field. It was just a great team effort.”
The sharing of the ball throughout the girls saw four different players score and another three deliver a pass on the goal, recording the assist.
Greene’s Kenzi Drew put her team on the scoreboard with 13:22 left in the first half. Following Drew’s goal, the flood gates opened for the Trojans as they tacked on two more goals before the intermission.
Kylee Peck found the back of the cage with just under eight and a half minutes left in the half. With the Trojans taking a 2-0 lead, Marathon called a timeout to regroup and make a plan of attack to cut the deficit.
However, with four minutes remaining before the break, Olivia Kennedy – the Trojans’ player who scored the game winner to knock-off top-seeded Whitney Point a week earlier – tallied the first of two in the contest.
After the first two Greene goals were unassisted, Kennedy’s came on a pass from Sara White to give one of the many passing combinations the end result the Trojans were looking for.
Less than seven minutes after halftime, Greene put together another display of ball distribution and it ended with Jess Unkel finding Kennedy in front of the net. Kennedy then rifled off one the Trojans’ 14 shot attempts past the keeper for the 4-0 advantage.
With the clock winding down to the end of the game, Emma Rice – a recent freshman call-up to the squad for the Trojans’ playoff run – fielded a ball from senior teammate Leah Decker and scored her first career varsity goal.
Marathon’s goalie Korah Smith had a busy day in front of the net, stopping 10 of Greene’s shot attempts.
Controlling the possession for much of the game, the Trojans’ back line held the Olympians to just a single shot attempt. Brooke Austin, Greene’s starting goalkeeper, made the lone save and preserved the shut out for her team.
