by Brandon Alter ‘17

Varsity field hockey lost their first two games to Springbrook and Walt Whitman by a combined score of 6-2. The team looked for an opportunity to get into the win column and gain confidence with a rivalry game at home on September 20 against Magruder.

Going into the game, Coach Amy Morse emphasized the importance of getting the season back on track. “Tonight’s game is important because it is a chance for the team to prove to themselves and to others that they are a strong, dedicated and skilled team with a fierce desire to win,” she said. “They have been waiting to play this game for two weeks [game was postponed from its original date on September 7] so they are ready to work hard and win at home.”

The Warriors pressured Magruder early, and the Colonels were forced to use a timeout less than four minutes into the game. Sherwood earned six straight penalty corners before senior Maddie Lauda scored to give Sherwood a 1-0 lead with just over 18 minutes remaining in the first half.

Magruder was able to respond after giving up the early goal. They kept up the pressure and forced Sherwood to call their own timeout with just over 10 minutes left in the first half. The timeout seemed to reenergize the Warriors as they upped the pressure on Magruder; however, goalie Kayla Zohlmann made a number of key saves late in the first half for the Colonels to keep the score at 1-0.

The second half was the same, the Warriors applied pressure which lead them to scoring chances. Less than three minutes into the second half, senior Brynn Farley made it 2-0. Ten minutes later senior Sydney Abramowitz scored to give Sherwood a 3-0 advantage after three straight penalty corners. Senior Raheemah Afinnih added a fourth goal five minutes later off the rush. In the waning moments of the game, junior goalie Emma Shuster made a save to keep her shutout.

“It was important because we hadn’t won a game yet and we needed that boost of confidence,” said Abramowitz.

The Warriors will have to regain that confidence after a heartbreaking 3-2 loss against Clarksburg on October 10. The Warriors were up 2-0 after the first half but eventually lost in overtime. The team next faces two challenging home games against Walter Johnson and Churchill before concluding the regular season with an away