By Kailyn Huynh
Fountain Valley High School (FVHS) varsity field hockey played their final home game with a 0-1 loss on Friday. Despite their cohesive passing and defensive strength, the Barons were unable to obtain a win, lacking in their offensive scoring.
As the team’s senior game, the barons saw good coordination, and head coach Mary-Ellen Esquer commented on the morale of the Barons over the season.
“It was a good game overall. I think that they’ve improved a lot all season,” Esquer said. “[It’s] just unfortunately, [they] haven’t figured out how to get the ball in the goal yet… and that’s going to make the difference between a 1-0 loss and a win.”
At the start of the game, the Barons were able to steal the first possession. Great Oak and FVHS went back and forth, with several attempts towards their goals, but the Wolves were able to make many stronger advances at scoring.
As the first quarter progressed, Great Oak received three short-corner calls, yet failed to pass the Barons’ defense and missed their attempts.
During the Wolfpack’s third short-corner, they made a great effort to score, but their shot was blocked by senior Hannah Epling. FVHS goalie senior Katherine Drechsler also played notable defense, blocking one of their other shots.
The first quarter ended with a score of 0-0, with neither team being able to score.
Soon after the start of the second quarter, Great Oak made the first and only goal of the game during a short-corner attempt, setting the score to 0-1.
With 12:34 on the clock, the Barons were able to reclaim the possession and bring the ball back to their side of the 25-yard line. They displayed coordinated passing and powerful drives as they progressed down the field. Shortly after, FVHS received their first short-corner opportunity but missed the goal.
Despite Great Oak regaining possession, and attempting to score, the Barons stayed resilient and continued to block their shots. Even with the point against them, FVHS showed remarkable defense in holding up against the Wolves in the multiple short-corners that plagued the second half of the game.
The score stayed at 0-1 at the halfway point.
Throughout the remainder of the game, Great Oak and FVHS continued to exchange possessions, with the referees constantly calling short-corners and fouls, but neither team succeeded to score.
“It was a close game the whole time,” Esquer said. “We had a chance, we stayed in there to the end. [A chance] to get a goal and tie up the game, but [we] couldn’t quite make it.”
Both teams played with an intense effort, and despite the Barons taking a loss, the players left in high spirits for senior night.
“I had a really fun experience these four years, and I hope that incoming freshmen try [field hockey], even if it’s just for a season,” senior Isabel Grammas said.
