Pilgrim field hockey jumps over .500 with shutout win

William Geoghegan
Posted 10/7/14

The first half of the season left Pilgrim in the middle of the Division II field hockey pack. The Patriots lost to the teams above them in the standings and beat the teams below.

As they try to rise to the top of the pack in the second half, they know they need to break that mold.

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Pilgrim field hockey jumps over .500 with shutout win

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The first half of the season left Pilgrim in the middle of the Division II field hockey pack. The Patriots lost to the teams above them in the standings and beat the teams below.

As they try to rise to the top of the pack in the second half, they know they need to break that mold. Friday, they took a first step. Facing a Burrillville team that would have vaulted them in the overall standings with a victory, the Pats got a penalty stroke goal by Paula Cavanagh and a strong effort in the cage by Alex Pouliot to make the lead stand up in a 1-0 victory.

Pilgrim is now 5-4, tied with South Kingstown for third place in Division II-South. The Pats also now own a better record than Burrillville and Woonsocket, who are in third and fourth place in D-II-North.

“That was our best win and I think we played our best game,” said Pilgrim head coach Steph Shields. “To put us a little higher, to make it a little easier for us down the stretch, we needed one like this. This was definitely a big win to help us get into the playoffs.”

Burrillville came in with a 3-4-1 record and a profile similar to the Pats. Pilgrim had the game circled as a big one, and played like it early on. The Pats controlled possession for much of the first half and took a 1-0 lead eleven minutes in. The Pats were awarded a penalty stroke after Burrillville goalie Allie Simpson covered the ball in the circle, a violation.

Cavanagh took the stroke and slid it toward the right side. Simpson got her pad on it, but the ball rolled just over the goal line.

“[Cavanagh] said it herself, it was a little lucky,” Shields said. “It kind of glanced off the goalie and rolled in, but we’ll take it.”

Pilgrim got another penalty stroke for the same violation later in the half, but this time, Simpson saved Cavanagh’s shot.

The early goal would remain the only tally of the game, and Pilgrim’s defense kept it that way. Led by Lillian Saran, Sarah Dolan and Madison Yehle, the Pats held strong against a second-half surge by the Broncos. Pouliot made 20 saves.

“The second half, Burrillville did dominate a lot of it,” Shields said. “We really stuck it out. Our midfielders and our defense really had to work hard and they did. Our goalie was awesome. That was clearly her best game.”

Burrillville had several golden opportunities. The best came with 17 minutes left, when leading-scorer Kasey Desrosiers wound up for a big shot off a corner. Pouliot held her ground and made the save, and Dolan scooped the rebound away from the goal line.

Burrillville ended up with six penalty corners in the second half, to just one for Pilgrim, but the Pats didn’t blink.

“Our defense did an awesome job,” Shields said. “We finally have our players where they’re playing best. Lillian Saran was hurt toward the beginning of the season. She’s back now and everyone else falls into place, instead of continually shuffling kids around. That’s huge for us.”

Pilgrim will try to carry the momentum into another key game today. The Pats will take on Woonsocket, who’s 3-3-2 and one point ahead of Burrillville in D-II-North.

“This puts us above .500,” Shields said. “We’ve got Woonsocket. It’ll be a tough game but I’m hoping we can get a win out of it. Then we start playing our D-II-South teams again. We’ll have the same tough teams, but if we keep playing well like this, we’ll see more low-scoring games with an opportunity to be in it at the end.”

Whatever happens, the Pats just want to keep playing like they did Friday.

“I think things are really coming together now and this is the perfect time for that to be happening,” Shields said. “I couldn’t be more pleased with the way we’re playing now.”

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