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YOUNG GRIZZLIES COME THROUGH AGAIN
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Garrison Forest takes down Bryn Mawr for IAAM A field hockey regular season title, top seed in postseason tourney
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| by Derek Toney About 10 minutes after clinching the IAAM A Conference field hockey regular season title Tuesday afternoon, Garrison Forest School realized its work from the last several weeks will soon be a memory. The postseason begins next week, and the Grizzlies know their accomplishments likely won't mean as much without the ultimate prize. "It's what you put on the field that day," said Garrison Forest junior forward Alex Goldstein. "How hard you play, how hard you practice, how hard you want it." "It's anybody's game and we take it game by game," said Grizzlies coach Traci Davis. "All eight teams have strong play and the potential to upset some of the top seeds." The Grizzlies will have the biggest target as the No. 1 seed, thanks to a 2-1 decision over Bryn Mawr School in Owings Mills. They used a first half goal by Goldstein and an early second half tally by Megan Hauver, followed by strong play in goal from Emily Cain the remainder of the game to finish the regular season 13-2-1, 11-2-1 in league play, one game ahead of Bryn Mawr (14-3-2, 10-3-1). It was thought Garrison Forest would take a step back this season after graduating eight seniors from last year's tournament runners-up, but the Grizzlies haven't missed a beat. Twelve of the 16 players on their roster are underclassmen. "I think while we certainly knew we had a lot of talent on this team, I think they exceeded my expectations this season," said Davis, in her seventh season. "They just pulled it together with grit and determination." "I think it actually helped us. It made work a little more harder," said Hauver, a senior varsity newcomer. "Eventhough we are a different team, we have a lot of skill and talent." Hauver, who admitted she was nervous, got her stick on a pass from junior midfielder Christine Knauss off a corner shot with 26 minutes, 18 seconds remaining in the second half for the decisive goal. The Grizzlies dominated early in the final 30 minutes with six corner shots. "I've always felt we're a second-half team," said Goldstein, whose team played the defending champ Bryn Mawr to a scoreless tie earlier in the regular season. "We played pretty hard in the first half, but, for whatever reason, we get extremely motivated in the second half. We know the last 30 minutes, we have to push it out." Goldstein gave Garrison Forest a 1-0 lead, hitting a shot into the back left corner with 9:51 remaining in the first half. Bryn Mawr pulled even with just 43 seconds remaining in the second half on a score by Sarah Cole with an assist from Peyton Hawkins. Cain, a sophomore, kept the Mawrtians off the scoreboard in the second half with defensive help from sophomores Bayley Mullan, Megan Mullan and Ana Henrich. "They are not overconfident, they know that every game is going to be a lot of hard work," said Davis. "They're taking nothing for granted. That's unusual in a way with a young team because you think they're going to have these lofty aspirations of 'oh, we're going to the championship.' They haven't even uttered those words." The Grizzlies have let their play do the talking. They're happy that one road to the championship will again go through Owings Mills. "We don't into this thinking like we're the No. 1 seed, we're going to have an easy first game," said Davis. "We know every game is going to be hard, starting with next Tuesday." |
