Fallston surges into 3A field hockey state final

by Blair Morse
Special to DigitalSports

Every great champion needs its glue player. The kind of player willing to do the dirty work to ensure the win.

For the top-ranked Fallston High School field hockey team (18-1), Caitlin Dempsey is that player. Dempsey was everywhere Wednesday night, helping the Cougars win a rematch of last year’s state final, 2-0, over Bethesda-Chevy Chase (13-5) in the Class 3A state semifinals at Broadneck High School.

The Cougars will take on Atholton in the state championship game Saturday at 4 p.m. at Washington College in Chestertown.

Fallston has a number of notable weapons, led by the extraordinary skills of Lindsey Puckett and the up and down total game of Krissy Fusco.

But, it was Dempsey’s hustle that set the tone early for Fallston. Dempsey could be found chasing towards clearing defenders and risking her body to make a block, or racing up the right sideline past a defender, or even skidding on her arms on the rubberized track ringing the field. That happened when she stretched every fiber to keep the ball in play and along the sideline.

“I try to get in there, play scrappy and do whatever I can to get the ball in play, or in the goal,” said Dempsey, who scored the winning goal in last year’s state final.

Said Fallston coach Alice Puckett: “Cait is fun to watch because she’s small and explosive. It adds a whole new dimension to the game. I think kids look at her and see this 4-foot-11 girl, and then boom, she’s passed you. And she’s scrappy, too. She’s relentless.”

Dempsey also happens to be the Cougars’ corner taker and how precise passing helped create opportunities for long hitters like Puckett and Fusco.

She set up Fusco for the first goal 7:09 into the game. Dempsey’s pass on the corner went right to Fusco, who had a second to set up and crank a hard, low shot that Barons’ goalie Claire Veith couldn’t get to.

Dempsey got one for herself 7:32 into the second half after another corner. Dempsey’s pass on the corner set up Puckett, who cut the ball back on an onrushing defender and swept a shot back towards the far post. The shot hit a stick and deflected back to the near post where Dempsey had been battling for position. She smacked it in and gave Fallston a crucial two-goal advantage.

“Our passing was right on,” Dempsey said. “There was always someone through and flat for the ball when they needed to be.”

Said Puckett: “After seeing them play a few times this year, I just felt like we had to play our game. It was really about us stepping up into the passing lanes and playing our game.”

Veith made seven saves on the game. Fallston keeper Kaite Gerbes made four saves in getting the shutout.

“They exposed our youth a little bit,” Bethesda-Chevy Chase coach Amy Wood said. “They’re a very experienced team. They took it to us in the first half.

“My team’s come a long way from the beginning of the season until now. If you’d asked me at the beginning of the year if we would’ve been back here, I wasn’t so sure. You’ve got to take pride in that, but that doesn’t mean it’s not hard.”

Fallston (18-1)                1    1    -    2
Bethesda-CC (13-5)        0    0    -    0
GOALS: FALL- Fusco, Dempsey. ASSISTS: FALL-Dempsey. SAVES: FALL-Gerbes, 4 BCC-Veith, 7. SHOTS: FALL-13, BCC-5. CORNERS: FALL-8, BCC-4.