By Karen Phan, Opinion Editor
Girls’ varsity field hockey played an exciting game against the Marina High School Vikings and won 3-1 yesterday afternoon.
The Barons opened up the first half strong with junior midfielder Emily Lai, assisted by sophomore forward Zanvious Thantrong, scoring a goal in the third minute. Fountain Valley took several shots on goal afterwards and pressured Marina but failed to score.
Marina kept Fountain Valley at bay with offensive plays for the rest of the half. The Vikings were awarded multiple short corners and took shots but missed every opportunity they had to make a goal. The first half ended with the Barons leading 1-0.
“We didn’t connect [in the] first half at all,” Lai said. “[Our] playing was really sloppy in comparison to [the] second half. [The] second half was better than [the] first, but only marginally.”
Fountain Valley began the half with a second goal from senior forward Madison Grogan that was assisted by Thantrong during the 31st minute. The game returned to a stalemate following Grogan’s goal.
The Vikings gained possession of the ball about fifteen minutes into the half. Marina was awarded a short corner that resulted in a goal in the 39th minute. Grogan made a breakaway and shot the ball into the Vikings’ cage one minute after, bringing the score to 3-1.
From then on, both teams played with high intensity and the ball continuously changed sticks. Fountain Valley’s defense, led by senior Mackenzie Esquer and junior Drew Ruzgerian, repeatedly overwhelmed Marina’s offense.
“They did really well today,” Head Coach Nancy Mendez said. “They were able to connect up, too, and mark well on defense.”
Fountain Valley made a final push to score and was awarded a short corner in the last minute. The attempt was unsuccessful, and the game ended with a final score of 3-1.
“We are tied with Great Oak [High School] in our league so we need to make sure we get as many wins as possible,” Mendez said.
Come support the Lady Barons at home as they play the Huntington Beach High School Oilers next Tuesday at 3:15 p.m.
