Dialog reporter
CLAYMONT – No team wants to go through a new season with thoughts of the previous year in mind, particularly when it ended with just two wins. Archmere’s field hockey team put the 2014 campaign in the distant rear-view mirror on Thursday afternoon, putting on a dominating performance in a 3-1 win over Delaware Military Academy in Diamond State Athletic Conference action.
The win was the Auks’ third in as many games, more than the two they managed last year. Senior Presley Conaty said this season has a different feel to it.
“It feels great having this many wins under our belt so far. We’ve been working so hard all summer, since the end of last year,” she said. “We’re just continuing to make ourselves better, and we know that we want it this year.”
Conaty put the hosts on the board first, scoring from six feet out on a feed from junior Leah DaCosta. Archmere continued to control the ball, and five minutes after she scored, Conaty found herself with a scoring opportunity. She weaved through three Seahawks, but both her initial shot and a rebound were blocked by a defender.
The Auks kept the pressure on DMA throughout the half but could not find the back of the net. That included a shot off a penalty corner in the final minute that hit the side of the cage. They led by the lone goal at intermission.
The offense continued after intermission, but the score remained 1-0 thanks to some near-misses and some clutch saves by the Seahawks’ goalkeeper. Conaty broke through with her second goal, however, with 7:27 to go in the match, redirecting a crossing pass from junior Lorin Donovan to make it 2-0. Two and a half minutes later, Conaty fanned on a shot while going for the hat trick, but senior Sarah Bunting was right there to pounce on the loose ball and send it home.
The Seahawks spoiled Archmere’s shutout bid with 1:07 left when junior Alicia Cross grabbed a loose ball in front and sent it in. Most of Archmere’s starters were on the bench by that point.
Conaty said it was a quality win for her squad. The Seahawks came into the afternoon with two shutouts.
“It was a really good win for us. We knew they were going to be a tough team coming in, being a conference game. We knew we just had to give it to them from the start. I think we came out strong. With this heat, we were dragged down, but it was a very physical game and we did a really good job of pushing back,” Conaty said.
Archmere outshot the Seahawks, 18-3. They also had more penalty corners, 8-1. Archmere (3-0) is back on the field Tuesday at 3:45 p.m. at Newark Charter. DMA (2-1) is right back at it on Friday, taking on Conrad at 3:45 p.m. at Hockessin Montessori School.
