On Friday, Sept. 30, the Fountain Valley High School (FVHS) varsity field hockey team went up against the Westminster Lions, winning by a score of 3-0. Westminster fought aggressively to the last few seconds, but the Barons solidly held up.
The game moved very quickly; the Barons started the first quarter off strong, with sophomore Reese Zarzana scoring a goal, and they concluded the quarter with sophomore Lola Korhonen scoring another goal with only a couple of minutes left on the clock. Throughout the first quarter, there were many strong attacks from the Westminster lions; however, the Fountain Valley’s defense line stood up firmly against these attacks.
Korhonen came back strong in the second quarter, and within the first few minutes, she was able to bring the score up to 3-0.
The teams played their first short corner, but senior Melissa Maytorena saved the day by performing great defense efforts. Not long after their first short corner, the Barons got a foul, and the Lions gained possession of the ball; however, sophomore Tatum Koby stole it right from their den. There was an ongoing change of possession between the teams as Westminster made an attempt to bring their score up. Freshman Linda An and sophomore Maya Marin helped to prevent the Lions from capitalizing on their possession.
The game score stayed at 3-0 throughout the third and fourth quarters.
In a quarter with continuous changes in possession, Westminster almost carried an offensive play to the Barons’ goal. However, a hard stop by junior Olivia Fernandez sent it back to the Baron offense. This movement characterized the last moments of the game, as the Westminster defense line held up firmly against the Barons’ multiple attacks.
The Westminster offense line came forward with competitive attacks in the fourth quarter; however, their attacks didn’t go through and the Barons blocked them. The game ended with the Barons leading 3-0
“Today we’re happy, it’s our first win.” head coach Marly-Ellen Esquer said
The Barons look forward to the second half of their league games and winning more on the field.
“I think it went very well,” Zordani said. “Westminster was a little aggressive and the refs weren’t seeing that, but overall, you know, we won and that’s all that matters.”
