The high school’s girls field hockey team opened their rivalrous game versus Hawken by scoring half way through the first quarter. Stow battled throughout all four quarters, keeping the plays alive. This team has had a fair start to the season with their record being 3 wins and 5 loses before the game. Considering this, the team is optimistic about their games to come.

    Six of the players were interviewed before the game to gauge their feelings. When asked how they feel about the game, senior Emma Oshel responded, “I’m really excited, a little bit nervous, but I think we have a good chance if we play as a team.” Senior Mckenna Rice agreed with Oshel’s sentiment by adding, “Yeah, it’s going to be a lot of fun and it’s going to be hard, it’s going to be physical. I’m really excited and I really want to win.” Spirits were high, even though the team admitted that they were nervous for their upcoming match, they would put more effort than ever to work together as a team to beat Hawken. Senior Alyssa Walter admitted, “This is the one game I really want to win and we have a chance if we play right.” Rice continued to explain the reason why Hawken was such an important competitor to beat saying, “It was tough last year, they were mentally and physically draining.” The others agreed, mentioning the poor sportsmanship among Hawken which makes them a fierce competitor. With the game taking place at the high school’s football stadium at seven pm, the girls were ready to finally beat Hawken.

    The game opened up with the rivaling teams fighting for the ball in the middle of the field. The first quarter started out with both teams zero and zero until senior Angie Ilijevich scored on an open path. She managed to get ahead of Hawken and push past their defenders for a goal. Towards the end of the first quarter, number 30 from Hawken had the jump on Stow and scored. First quarter ended with the score tied at 1-1,

    Second quarter started out with a tied game and renewed spirits. Stow’s upset from the first quarter continued into the second as their defense was working harder than before. Hawken continuously tried to score as defender Oshel completed a tackle to hold them off. With only 2 minutes left of the quarter, Senior Aubrey Bottger was awarded a corner which gave them an advantage over Hawken. The two teams battled for the ball until the end of the quarter. Even through the multiple battles, Stow’s defense held strong keeping the game tied at 1-1.

     Quarter three began with Stow starting with the ball. This quarter was fairly unattentive until ten minutes left in the quarter Stow was awarded a corner shot. From here, this allowed Bottger to gain yet another advantage over Hawken. Bottger was able to switch the fields and get the ball into Hawken’s defensive zone. Minutes later Hawken ended up in Stow’s defensive zone and scoring, though this ended up being ruled no goal. With new faith in the game’s outcome, Stow came back out with their offense stronger than before. Hawken was awarded a corner which lead to a long battle in the middle of the field. With the third quarter ending in a tie, the final push to pull a win out from under Hawken was approaching fast.

     Stow came into the fourth quarter with determination. Rice battled through multiple Hawken players to keep the ball on Hawken’s side of the field. Stow was awarded a corner two minutes into the quarter. With this advantage, Bottger scored resulting in the score to be 2-1 in Stow’s favor. A corner pocket was awarded to Hawken.. Even considering this advantage, goalie Mary Barnes, junior, blocked a shot on goal. Bottger once again was able to pull away and switch the fields once again. Stow took a timeout with five minutes and fifteen seconds left of the quarter. Rice snatched the ball and hit it up to the middle of the field. Minutes later Hawken had control of the ball, scoring with only 57 seconds left of the quarter. End of the fourth quarter finishes with both teams tied 2-2.

     Considering the tied game, Stow and Hawken had to go into a 7 versus 7 player showdown. No substitutions are allowed and it lasts for 10 minutes, or until a goal is scored. Stow opened up by Oshel preventing a goal from Hawken. Within seconds, Hawken scored but it was once again ruled a no goal. Bottger snatched the ball, running up the far end trying to switch the fields. Hawken’s defense fought as they received control of the ball. Barnes blocked a goal, giving Stow another chance. Only three minutes left in the game, Hawken scored, giving them the win. This leaves the final score being 3-2 in favor of Hawken.

    With the game over, Coach Palma was interviewed and asked about her perspective on the game as a whole, “Hawken is one of our greatest opponents. Just last year we lost 12-0 to them, so the fact that we got to go into overtime with them, and we were able to compete with them was a huge win,” Palma said. Palma was very proud of her team by continuing to say, “I think this game was one of our better games that we’ve ever played, and that I’ve ever coached. I think at the end we just got very tired and that affected us a lot,” Palma explained. Ilijevich was questioned about her opinions about the team’s performance, “[The team performed] super good! We were passing super well which was one of our struggles at the beginning of the year but now it’s one of our strengths so that is amazing to see,” she explained. Bottger, who was another one of the two to score, gave her opinions about the game and the team’s performance during this game. She led off saying, “I feel like [the game] went well, we did really good communicating. We did good to keep hustling and I’m just really proud of us,” Bottger explained. With the team, overall, seeming happy with how they performed, this softened the blow of a loss to a harsh rival team.