Lady Trojans open field hockey season with 5-1 win over Southampton

New Kent Lady Trojan Samantha Emana (7) punches the ball by Southampton defenders for her second goal of the night.

Andre' Jones photo

Opening the 2015-16 season in an Aug. 27 contest against visiting Southampton Lady Indians, New Kent Lady Trojan field hockey head coach Matt Duckworth said it would take some time for his young team to get used to playing at the next level. For the Lady Trojans, some valuable lessons and clutch goals were key in a 5-1 victory over Southampton.

Twelve minutes into the game, an offensive stalemate by both sides forced Duckworth to call a timeout for his team to calm down. The ploy worked, as the hosts’ aggressiveness resulted in a penalty corner moments later, cultivating in Torun Carlson’s goal to take a 1-0 lead. Ten minutes later, Lady Trojan teammate Carly Housden increased the margin to 2-0 heading into halftime intermission.

Southampton emerged with a new strategy in the second half, overloading the offensive side of the field to outnumber Lady Trojan defenders. After failing to register a shot attempt in the first half, Southampton had three attempts within the first five minutes. The numbers game worked for the Lady Indians, as Savannah Blum scored with 18:58 on the clock to return the deficit to a mere goal (2-1).

Seven minutes would pass before the hosts would find paydirt. Ashleigh Bedwell passed the ball to Housden, who in turn deflected it to teammate Samantha Emana who squeezed it by Southampton goalie Faith Weideman. Two minutes later Emana would punch in her second goal of the night among four defenders, to give the Lady Trojans a 4-1 lead. Maddie Collins’ goal with 4:21 remaining on the clock for the hosts pushed the final result to 5-1 and into the win column in the season opener.

After the game, Duckworth commented about the crucial timeout taken in the first half that led to the Lady Trojans’ first goal.

“There are a lot of new faces on this team who are getting used to playing at a later time, but I told them to relax,” said the victorious head coach. “I thought we were really tight in the beginning and I told the girls to let the game play out.”

Duckworth also commented about the two different approaches his team had in each half.

“In the first half we were aggressive, but in the second half we came out on our heels,” he commented. “I knew they [Southampton] would come out attacking and they did.

“We settled down and that’s when we were able to score,” he added. “We worked a lot on where we need to be when the ball is in the circle and that led to Samantha [Emana] scoring tonight. It was good to see her get a chance to score those goals after she missed opportunities in the first half.”