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Content Manger, SMAC
Eight games in, the Patuxent Panthers were still perfect.
Perfect not just in that the Panthers were still unbeaten, but through eight games in the SMAC field hockey season Patuxent had yet to surrender a single goal. In fact, heading into Monday afternoon's contest at La Plata, the smallest margin of victory enjoyed by the Panthers was three in the second game of the season against Northern. But there was some adversity lurking on the field at La Plata.
Patuxent struggled to find its rhythm against the Warriors, in part due to a field that possesses a much bumpier surface than what the Panthers are used to at home. Still, with goals by Erica Wiltse and Kate Nolan and a defense that stood up to several intense Warriors' challenges, Patuxent remained perfect with a 2-0 win over the hosts.
"Every new challenge is good for the team," Patuxent coach Lynn Powell said. "We came out 2-0, so obviously just them adjusting is a good learning experience. They had to stick together because frustration was kind of setting in with the field conditions.
"We'll take it as a learning experience."
The learning experience could have come at a good time, as Patuxent (9-0) enters its final three-game stretch to a season which has seen the Panthers outscore the opposition 60-0.
"We strive to do our best," junior Danielle Gilbert said following the win at La Plata. "We want to score, we want to score. We don't want any goals against. If it happens, it happens, but we just want to do the best we can."
Wiltse scored in the first half to put Patuxent in front, and Nolan scored midway through the second half to give the team a little cushion. And, for the first time, the Panthers nearly needed that cushion as La Plata (6-3) nearly pounded one into the cage in the late going. But the Panthers were able to pass the test, which came on the heels of another test in a gritty 4-0 win over Leonardtown on Saturday.
In that contest the Panthers faced a charged-up Leonardtown squad that had support from a vocal group of fans. But then, with the Panthers closing in on conference perfection for two years running, the team expects to take the best shot any opponent can muster.
"Yeah, and the girls know. Everyone's out to get us," Powell said. "We went up to Leonardtown and there were signs everywhere, people with painted faces, cheerleaders.
"I said to the girls the last couple days, 'It's not about all that.' It's about them on the field. They have to focus on them as a team and not worry about anything else."
La Plata is scheduled to host Lackey on Tuesday, while Patuxent is slated to host Great Mills -- the defending 3A South champ -- on Wednesday in what could be another good test for the Panthers. But with a tough 2A South Region awaiting in the postseason for the Panthers, how they respond to each of the tests they face could tell a great deal about what kind of run the team can expect in the coming weeks.
"Today it was more like the field in their heads, not so much everything else," Powell said, "but we know everyone's out to get us. They're going to play their best games against us, so it gets tougher. But each day I think it's them getting better because of these challenges."
Patuxent 2, La Plata 0
P 1 1
L 0 0
Goals: Patuxent -- Wiltse, Nolan
