By Karen Phan, Opinion Editor
Girls’ varsity field hockey fought hard against Huntington Beach High School, the Sunset League champions for the past three years, but lost 1-8 today.
There was constant back and forth action for the first five minutes of the game until the Oilers secured the ball and forced the Barons back. Huntington Beach scored its first goal during a long hit in the 9th minute.
The Oilers took advantage of the Barons’ shakiness and attacked Fountain Valley’s defense. Huntington Beach was awarded two short corners that resulted in goals, putting Huntington Beach up 0-3.
“We started off strong but let up a bit in the middle,” senior captain, defender and midfielder Mackenzie Esquer said.
Fountain Valley started to implement a more defensive approach but couldn’t keep up with Huntington Beach’s speed and passing. The Barons gave up their fourth goal in the 16th minute.
“We still need to work on marking and better communication, as well as going to the player with the ball,” Esquer said.
Huntington Beach and Fountain Valley were at an impasse afterward. However, the Oilers had more opportunities to pressure the Barons. The Oilers gained control of the ball once again and, in the 24th minute, drove the hall into the Barons’ cage, bringing the score to 0-5.
Senior captain and forward Madison Grogan led the Barons’ offense immediately after the Oilers’ fifth goal. Huntington Beach responded aggressively and received a short corner, and Fountain Valley generated offensive pressure again. Despite the strong efforts from the Barons, they allowed the Oilers to score a sixth goal in the final seconds of the first half.
“Today, pressuring was good but small lapses allowed [Huntington Beach] to shoot on goal,” senior captain and midfielder Maya Bello said.
Huntington Beach began the second half with the same intensity and continued to overwhelm Fountain Valley. This earned the Oilers’ their seventh goal in the 37th minute.
Senior midfielder Miriam Brown, Esquer and Grogan pushed into the Oilers’ territory with strategic runs and connected passes. In the 40th minute, Grogan scored the Barons’ only goal in a clean reverse sweep.
“HB is a very skilled team and the fact that we were able to score on them is a huge accomplishment,” Grogan said.
The Lady Barons picked up their pace following Grogan’s goal and played on the Oilers’ territory a few times. Esquer made several interceptions and Bello was a key player in making connections for the Barons’ offense. Huntington Beach eventually penetrated Fountain Valley’s defense and took shots on goal, soon scoring their eighth goal in the 50th minute.
“For our next games, we will be working on defensive plays so that we can improve on transitioning the ball to offense as well as recovering,” Bello said.
Fountain Valley made valiant efforts in the last five minutes of the game. Once the Oilers gained possession of the ball, they eliminated Fountain Valley’s chances to play offensively. The game ended with a final score of 1-8.
Although the Barons’ suffered a tough loss, the girls felt they played better than anticipated against the reigning league champions.
“The score didn’t reflect how well we played, especially in the second half,” Grogan said. “The effort level today was really high and all the girls seemed to really want to play their best.”
Girls’ varsity field hockey will play at Temecula Valley High School this Friday at 5:30 p.m. Come support the Lady Barons’ last game of the season at home against Edison High School next Tuesday at 3:15 p.m.
An earlier version of this article stated that Fountain Valley would play at Temecula Valley High School on Thursday at 3:15 p.m.
