On Thursday, Oct. 9, McLean’s field hockey team battled Marshall High School in one of their last district games of the season. After a difficult season, the team hoped to improve their record.
The Highlanders started off strong, with the ball being played in the center of the field. However, Marshall quickly gained control of the game, getting a few early corners. Senior goalie Lauren Mechem made a number of close saves, keeping the score at 0-0 in the first quarter.
“[Mechum] always plays really well and in this game especially she made so many amazing saves when the ball ended up near the goal,” junior Kate Higbee said. “She cleared the ball many times which prevented Marshall from scoring more.”
During the second quarter, Marshall maintained their momentum. There were a few strong steals from McLean, but ultimately the team struggled on the defensive side.
“I think that it was definitely a more defensive-orientated game, but the team had a lot of good breakaways on the offensive side,” sophomore Amalya Monroe said.
Going into the third quarter, the score was still at 0-0. McLean’s offense got more aggressive, with senior Ashley O’Sullivan earning a green card. McLean had an attempt to score on their first corner of the game, but it was unsuccessful.
“I was really excited when we got the corner in the third,” senior Adelaide Thomas said. “I was really hopeful that we could get a goal and pull ahead in the game.”
The last quarter started off strong with two more McLean corners. Senior midfielder Karah Johnson inserted the ball, but Marshall put up a strong front and got the ball back on their side, scoring the first point of the game. O’Sullivan had a narrow miss for McLean, but Marshall eventually prevailed and brought the final score to 0-2.
“It was pretty sad when Marshall scored, especially because it was so late in the game and we had done a good job in holding them off for most of it,” Higbee said. “But we kept trying to keep our spirits up and use that as a reason to play even harder.”
McLean’s team put up a good fight against Marshall, but the game proved to be a difficult loss for the Highlanders. They play against Wakefield for the final district game of the season on Oct. 14.
“For our next game we’re going to keep the same intensity that we played the Marshall game with,” Thomas said. “Before the Marshall game we had been working on some new skills, so for the next game we’re going to perfect those skills and really give it our all for senior night.”
