The girls varsity hockey team lost 4-0 after a hard-fought game against the Natick Redhawks at the Walter Brown area on Saturday, Dec. 12, marking their third game of the season with a record of 0-3.
The Warriors began the game strong, aggressively fighting with the Redhawks for the first point. With multiple shots on goal from junior Suejin Koo and freshman Seraphina Ritzenthaler, the Warriors came close but couldn’t score.
Freshman Caitlin Wilson and sophomore Clara Thibault received penalties within seconds of each other, and the Warriors were faced with a five on three situation.
The Warriors killed the penalty with the help of junior and goal tender Aurora Charbonneau, who made a glove save, preventing a Redhawks goal before Wilson and Thibault came back on. Despite the Warriors’ efforts, Natick scored with seven minutes left in the first period.
Koo started the second-period skating end to end through many Redhawks, but the goalie saved her shot. The Warriors continued to create many scoring opportunities, only to be stopped by the Redhawks, who scored twice in the last five minutes, ending the second period 3-0.
The third period began with multiple saves from freshman and goalie Jaclyn Solovey, keeping the Warriors in the game. The efforts lasted until the Redhawks crammed in one last goal at the end of the game, stopping any momentum the Warriors had. Thibault fought to get in one last shot, but the horn went off, and the game ended 4-0 Redhawks.
The team was disappointed after the game, but senior and captain Meredith Alland had a more positive outlook.
“The game was definitely not our best, but we worked hard and fought back,” Alland said.
Head coach Sarah Schwenzfeier said there were many standout players in the game, particularly in the defensive zone.
“Our goalies have been doing a phenomenal job,” Schwenzfeier said. “Our defense, especially Etta Reed, has also shown improvement since last year. Etta’s definitely the backbone of our defense right now.”
This is Schwenzfeier’s first year coaching this team, and she said there has been a lot of progress throughout the season and within the team.
“They’re going to learn my style of coaching. I am going to learn how they respond and what they need to work on. But from there, it’s been going well,” Schwenzfeier said. “We’re figuring everything out together.”
