Field Hockey Earns an 8-0 Shutout Against Ferrum

The field hockey team was busy last week, with four games in six days. On Tuesday, Sept. 18, the Bobcats took on Goucher College in Bobcat Stadium. The game resulted in a 1-4 loss for the Bobcats. With a very fast beginning to the match, the first goal was scored just 33 seconds into play. Sophomore Gabby Rachuba scored the only goal for the Bobcats. This goal happened to be her first of the season, as well as her third career goal. Junior goalkeeper Sierra Smizer earned her second highest save count of the season with eight saves.

On Thursday, Sept. 20, the Bridgewater College Eagles traveled to Frostburg for a 4 p.m. game. This game resulted in a 1-2 loss for the Bobcats. Following this game, the record for the Bobcats was 0-6. First-year Taylor Hackett scored her first goal of the season in this game.

On Saturday, Sept. 22, the Bobcats traveled to Salem, Virginia to compete against Roanoke on their home field. The final score of the game was 2-4, in favor of Roanoke. Junior goalkeeper Sierra Smizer earned a high of 11 saves during this game. Classmate Logan Gladden racked up her statistics, scoring two goals in this game. After talking to head coach Kaitlin Thompson, The Bottom Line learned that the goal might have been scored by Sam Coffey; however, Coach Thompson was incredibly pleased with Logan being so involved in the play that the misprint is okay with her.

The final game of the week was on Sunday, Sept. 23 at Ferrum. This was an outstanding game, with six different Bobcats scoring, for a total of eight goals. This win boosts the Bobcats to 1-7 on their record. Senior Holly Van Wie scored two goals, sophomore Sam Coffey scored two goals, Logan Gladden scored one goal, seniors Ashleigh Myers and Molly Pickard each scored one goal, and first-year Rylee Johnson earned her first career goal. Coach Thompson stated that “because we played with such good energy, we were able to get everyone involved.” She accredits this win to moving different players out of their comfort zones and into different positions throughout the game.

During this hectic week, The Bottom Line caught up with sophomore midfielder Sam Coffey to ask about how the season is going and what the field hockey this season is like. She said, “this year, we are focusing on building a new culture. As it is Coach Thompson’s second year here, we are still figuring out the best culture that works for us as a team. I believe we have a lot of skilled players this year, and I’m excited to see how our new program will grow.”

Coach Thompson commented that the girls have continued to raise the level of playing intensity every game. The expectations for the team for the remainder of the season, as set by Coach Thompson, are to make it to the second round of playoffs. With every team in the Capital Athletic Conference earning a bid to the first-round this season, she is expecting the team’s playing level to increase and earn them a second game in the tournament. This will be Frostburg’s first appearance in the CAC tournament since 2012.

Even with playing ranked teams such as Salisbury and Christopher Newport, Coach Thompson is most looking forward to playing St. Mary’s. “I think the St. Mary’s game will be a good game. I think earning a CAC win in regular season will give us a lot of momentum going into the playoffs.”

“Our team has done a really good job of being so welcoming to everyone and staying positive. Even when the scoreboard doesn’t go our way, they do a good job of finding what we do well in each game.”

The Bobcats will have two games in the next week. The first is an away game on Wednesday, Oct. 3, when they travel to Washington and Jefferson to take the Presidents. The second game will take place at Bobcat Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 6 at 11 .a.m when the Bobcats play CAC opponent Salisbury.