Second half rally propels New Kent to win over Colonial Heights

New Kent's Abbie Clarke (left) battles for control of the ball against Colonial Height's Abby Proffitt.

Robb Johnson photo

New Kent’s Lady Trojans field hockey team used a combination of pace, defense, and intensity, leading to a second half spurt to topple the visiting Colonial Heights Lady Colonials 5-2 in the Sept. 5 home opener.

The hosts dominated the majority of the first half, keeping the ball on their side of the field. Lady Trojan Maddy Heath scored early for the hosts to give them an advantage but visiting Lady Colonial Aubrey Rowe answered with a goal of her own with nine minutes remaining in the first half to force a tie game heading into the halftime intermission.

Colonial Heights took the lead 49 seconds into the second half with an Anna Carsley score. However, the hosts withstood the quick score. New Kent scored the next four goals as Lindsey Moncrief, Hannah Meyer, Heath, and Peyton Lilley found the back of the scorer’s box to provide enough distance for the win.

New Kent head coach Matt Duckworth commented about his team’s performance after the game.

“We kept the pressure on them and when they scored, we had to make adjustments,” he said. “When they went up 2-1 in the second half we had to play more discipline hockey and play more as a team.

“Our defense has to stay more discipline,” Duckworth continued when questioned about improvements needed. “We gave up a lot of corners and that was all because of discipline. However, the girls brought a lot of hunger from this past off-season that allowed us to get goals across tonight. This is a big improvement from last season.”

New Kent improves to 2-0 while Colonial Heights falls to 2-3.