Early goal decisive as NK defense preserves 1-0 win

New Kent’s Amanda Wood (right) takes control of the ball in a battle with a trio of Lafayette opponents.

Alan Chamberlain photo

Less than one minute into their Tuesday night field hockey clash with Lafayette’s invading Rams, New Kent’s Lady Trojans owned a 1-0 lead. And the hosts’ defense made that slim advantage hold up.

The Lady Trojans turned back every Lafayette scoring threat over the next 59 minutes of play to preserve a 1-0 victory, upping their record to 7-5.

Taylor Bland’s point-blank range shot off an assist from Liz Heath just 35 seconds into the match proved to be the game winner. Afterward, New Kent coach Matt Duckworth said, somewhat tongue-in-cheek, that the early goal and subsequent defensive stand figured into pre-game strategy.

“The game plan was to score in the first minute, but then we wanted to score more after that,” he said. “We had a lot of chances to put it in. Our defense saved our bacon more than a few times.”

New Kent unleashed 11 shots in all, but Ram goalkeeper Mattie Grove stopped 10. At the other end, the Lady Trojan defense weathered a half dozen Ram penalty corners. Keeper Megan Bland, meanwhile, recorded six saves.

“We knew from the start that we could take the game to them,” said Duckworth. “It was nice to see our team execute.”

The outcome marked New Kent’s second win over Bay Rivers competition. Earlier this season, the Lady Trojans topped Smithfield.