ENJOYING TESTS NEAR AND FAR

A pair of mid-September losses to Howard County’s Glenelg and Atholton haven’t shaken the confidence of the Severna Park field hockey team, which rebounded to take a 1-0 win over Delaware powerhouse Cape Henlopen and a 3-0 win over Mount Hebron later in the month, in addition to lopsided victories over Annapolis and Northeast.

At home against Mount Hebron on September 27, the Falcons went ahead 1-0 in the first half on a goal by Hunter Chadwick, who was positioned well to punch home a rebound off a shot by Ellie Schepens.

Play was somewhat more even between the two teams in the second half, but the Falcons broke free twice more for goals, first when Ashley Bellotte converted a pass from Megan Brannen, then again when Brannen crashed the circle on a shot by Chadwick and poached the rebound to make it 3-0. Head coach Ann Andrews critiqued her team’s effort as characteristic of how they’ve played in many games this season: the Falcons start strong, but they need to focus on sustaining effort over 50 minutes.

“Mount Hebron’s a very good team with good athletes,” she said. “We came out strong and had a good half, but we let a lot of the second half go, and that’s concerning. We’ve been, during the season, more of a second-half team, so we’ve been trying to work on being more of a first- and second-half team. Today I thought we were not playing our game in the second half. We looked sloppy and tired. We ended up getting two goals, but the play in between the 25s was not our best effort.”

The Falcons’ heavy legs may have been due in part to their long trek to Cape Henlopen just days prior on Saturday, September 24, when they visited the five-time defending Delaware state champions and ended the Vikings’ 63-game unbeaten streak with a 1-0 overtime victory. Chadwick was the goal-scorer in that game, benefitting from a pass from Schepens to end the game in overtime.

The Vikings’ last lost came in 2012, also to Severna Park.

While a 5-3-1 record in late September may seem out of sorts for a Severna Park program accustomed to rampaging its way into the playoffs with only a loss or two, the Falcons have played stiff competition from outside the county this year. The agreement with Howard County has given the Falcons showdowns with Glenelg (undefeated with shutout victories over Severna Park, South River and Arundel; three-time 2A state champs from 2010-2012 and six-time region champions since 2009), Atholton, Marriotts Ridge and Mount Hebron.

Andrews said she has enjoyed the yearly matchup with Cape Henlopen, but then there are Pennsylvania teams like Villa Maria and Hershey High School that play an even faster possession-based brand of field hockey she hopes the program can face next year.

“We actually want to pick up teams in Pennsylvania,” she said. “Cape Henlopen is a great game, and they’re good for us, it definitely pushes our buttons and shows us our holes, but the style of hockey they play is not something we’re trying to emulate, and what we see in Pennsylvania is, and so we’re trying to put them up against teams where I know we’re going to get killed, but we’re going to get better playing them.”

It seems hard to imagine a Severna Park field hockey team getting killed in any matchup, but with the rising tide of field hockey excellence lifting all programs locally and regionally, the team is being proactive in its quest to maintain high standards.

But first, the team will continue on its 2016 mission. The Falcons open October with a brutal stretch of games against South River, Arundel, Old Mill and Chesapeake before an October 18 showdown with rival Broadneck.