RAMSEY REBOUNDS, SMOTHERS TOP-RANKED WEST MILFORD

RAMSEY – The Ramsey field hockey team looked like, well, Ramsey again Tuesday night. The Rams upended West Milford, 5-0, knocking off the top-ranked team in The Record poll while rebounding from their first loss of the season a week ago at Lakeland. Becky Fantry’s team had seven days to think about that loss and if the time between games proved anything, it was that Ramsey was more than a bit displeased with its effort against the Lancers. Ramsey (7-1) played as dominating a game as it has all season. Considering the Rams were playing a top-flight team in West Milford (6-1-2) only made what they did Tuesday more impressive. Ramsey jumped out to a 3-0 first-half lead and were up 5-0 before the midway point of the second half on the strength of a Lexi Hawtin hat trick. “I think we sent a message in general tonight that we may get knocked down but we come back even harder for the next one,” Fantry said. “West Milford is a great team and a great competitor. But I didn’t want my team to forget the feeling it had [after Lakeland] and how disappointed we were when we didn’t play our hardest. “And that was my message at halftime even though we were up 3-0. West Milford is a formidable foe and a great team and I didn’t want the kids to falter [in the second half].” The Highlanders, meanwhile, managed two shots on goal and didn’t begin to play with some urgency until coach Krista Provost called a timeout with 10 minutes remaining. Ramsey pressed the play from the opening seconds of the game, continually beating West Milford to loose balls and bottling the Highlanders up at every turn. “They had a mental block today,” Provost said. “They hear the name Ramsey and don’t come out to play. Ramsey is a strong team, the best we have seen so far. “I’m happy, though, with the way things picked up in the second half. I called the timeout at 5-0 but I wasn’t going to freak out. We have a big game tomorrow [Wednesday] against Wayne Valley and if we play the way we did the last 10 minutes today we can forget about the first 50.”

RAMSEY REBOUNDS, SMOTHERS TOP-RANKED WEST MILFORD

Photo Credit: Ramsey Athletics

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