By Karen Phan
Fountain Valley High School girls’ varsity field hockey closed their season yesterday afternoon with their senior night game, losing 0-8 to the Edison High School Chargers.
Edison took immediate possession of the ball and pressured Fountain Valley’s defense. About five minutes into the game, the Chargers snuck the ball behind the Barons’ goalie from the left post, scoring their first goal of the game. They scored their second goal a few minutes later.
After the Chargers’ goal, the Lady Barons pushed into Edison’s half of the turf but soon lost the ball. While the Chargers remained in control, the Barons’ defense blocked them from taking shots on goal. The Chargers were awarded a short corner about 15 minutes into the game, to which the Barons responded with brief aggression before losing the ball again.
As the half came to an end, Edison players made a cross cage pass for a one-timer into Fountain Valley’s cage, bringing the score to 0-3.
“I thought the first half went pretty well,” senior defender Lavie Tran said. “I think we were all pretty nervous at first but we really got into the groove in the second [half].”
The second half opened with more aggression from Edison; however, Fountain Valley stole the ball with senior co-captain and forward Heather Erickson making a breakaway. Erickson made it about 20 yards away from the Chargers’ cage, marking the Barons’ first significant offensive pressure since the game began.
Edison regained possession of the ball and soon received two short corners; the first was unsuccessful, but the second resulted in a fourth goal for the Chargers. The Chargers continued to dominate the game, although the Barons managed to make offensive plays—led by Erickson and forwards junior Jocelyn Cramer and sophomore Mikayla Wang—and move close to the Chargers’ cage from time to time.
“[W]e were able to make some great breakaways,” Tran said.
Fountain Valley’s defense eventually allowed Edison players enough space for a series of quick passes and a final tap for a fifth goal. The Lady Barons worked to strengthen their defense and saw strong clearances from defenders senior Drew Ruzgerian and junior Carley Abbott-Hayes. Even so, Fountain Valley failed to intercept Edison’s connections and gave up three more goals for a final score of 0-8.
Despite the loss, Erickson is proud of the team’s performance.
“It was definitely an improvement from the last time we played Edison,” Erickson said.
Co-captain and defender senior Casey Bewley agreed with Erickson and believed the girls put up a good fight.
“We did so much better this game than the rest of the season,” Bewley said. “We were all really happy on the field, which made it a better game.”
