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ESG - Field hockey
Nicole Lewis of East Amherst stopped eight of the 10 shots she faced in what was a rematch of Western's 1-0 penalty stroke victory just two days prior. Western was clearly outshot in both games (10-3 in the title game and 20-10 in its win), with East Amherst resident Chantae Miller's goal providing the only offense in last Friday's pool-play victory. "We've been working in increments, trying to get Western to where it's respectable," Western coach and Depew resident Pete Tonsoline said. "We're not perennial contenders; we worked awful hard to get to this point. Hudson Valley is an excellent team that was very aggressive, and we hung in there with them. It was a huge tournament for us and I hope we gained the respect of some of the other regions." Western kicked off this year's Games with a 2-0 win over Adirondack on Thursday. Lewis was once again solid in net, turning aside the seven serious threats she faced. Miller, meanwhile, tallied the only goal Western would need later in the first half, and then assisted on the insurance goal scored by Irondequoit's Meghan Leusch midway through the second half. Western then suffered its only other loss of the tournament in the first game of a two-contest Friday, falling 4-2 to Long Island. Western actually led 2-1 in the first half before Long Island recorded three unanswered goals in the second half, including one with 24 seconds to play in regulation that sealed the outcome. East Rochester's Ashley Moulton and Tiffany Ruskopf netted Western's only goals, with Miller assisting on Moulton's tally. Lewis was solid in net once again despite suffering the loss. Western's only other game was a 2-1 victory over Central on Saturday. Western scored both its goals in the second half as it outshot Central 19-7 for the game. Lewis faced just seven shots for the game, while Moulton and Leusch made their first-half shots on Central's goalie count. Central scored its lone goal late in the second half. "It's funny, I thought Hudson Valley would be down this year, and that Central and Long Island would be the strong teams," Tonsoline said. "It wasn't what I expected at all, but that's the beauty of the Games." The silver-medal finish for Western gave the region its first medal in field hockey since earning the bronze in 2004. "We were definitely happy to win the silver," Tonsoline said. "We walked out of there with something and we were pleased. It's a tough tournament. It's a tough event and all the teams are strong. I just had a superb, very focused group of girls from the very beginning to the very end. They stuck together as a team and were one of the more serious teams I've ever taken to the Games. I think that's what it takes to be successful in this kind of a competition." Besides Miller and Lewis, Section VI was represented on this year's team by Elma's Nicole Augustine and Rachel Sluberski, South Wales' Serena Slattery, Orchard Park's Emily Girasole, Williamsville's Darragh Kerr, and Getzville's Emily Ogorman. Some of those players are still eligible to return for the Games next year - since field hockey is only a scholastic sport, those graduating from high school the June before the Games are no longer able to compete - and Tonsoline is hoping those potential returnees are able to generate some interest in the Games' squad at their schools. "Hopefully next year the interest will be as strong as it was this year," Tonsoline said. "I'm hoping the girls will spread the word and let their teammates at their schools know that this is a team they want to be playing on." e-mail: jnadolinski@beenews.com |
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