GREENFIELD — Frontier’s Lila Roche kept finding ways to put the ball in the back of the cage Wednesday night against Greenfield.
The junior put the Redhawks ahead 1-0 in the second quarter off a penalty corner and scored again with the rain pouring down in the second half off a deflection in front to give Frontier a 2-0 Suburban League victory at Vets Field.
“Getting that first goal gave them confidence,” Redhawks coach Missy Mahar said of her team. “They played well. Greenfield fought hard the whole game and had multiple chances. There was no sitting back saying ‘this was in the bank’ until the final horn.”
As has often been the case when Frontier and Greenfield meet on the field hockey pitch, there wasn’t much separating the two squads. Both teams had seven corners, both finished with five shots on goal, the lone difference being the Redhawks were able to capitalize on a couple of their chances around the net.
“It was hard fought between the 25s, we just couldn’t finish inside the circle,” Greenfield coach Erin Thayer said. “That’s the difference in the game. We just have to work a little harder on it and work on finishing in the circle.”
The first quarter saw the Green Wave control the majority of possession, keeping the ball in the Frontier half of the field.
That changed in the second quarter. The Redhawks (4-2-1) turned up the pressure, earning a corner with just under seven minutes to go in the half. The ball got passed around when Rebecca Wallace-West fired a shot into the circle, where Roche collected it with a sea of players around her, turned and fired it onto goal. It slipped past Green Wave goalie Ainslee Flynn to give Frontier a 1-0 advantage.
The Redhawks came out firing to open the second half, getting a great opportunity out front with 12 minutes to play in the quarter, but Flynn stonewalled the shot to keep it a one-goal game.
Keeping its foot on the gas looking to make it a two-goal cushion, Frontier was awarded a corner one minute later and made sure to capitalize. With multiple players in the circle, an initial shot was saved by Flynn, but Roche was there to clean it up and put it into the cage to gain the 2-0 advantage for the Redhawks with 10:36 to play in the third quarter.
With the rain coming down and the field slick, the Green Wave (3-3) were able to generate a few opportunities throughout the remainder of the game but were unable to put one past Frontier goalie Ella Flanders, who recorded five saves in the win.
“They kept getting corners and we couldn’t get the ball out of our 25,” Mahar said. “They were pressuring us. Hats off to Greenfield for continuing their fight but we stayed composed in that situation.”
Seven games into the season, Mahar said she likes what she’s seen from her group and hopes they can continue to gain confidence with each game.
“They’re starting to find their rhythm,” Mahar said. “They’re playing well together and learning from each other. We’re just reflecting after each game of what we can work on. They’re a good group of girls who are all in and it’s nice to see them get rewarded for all their hard work.”
As for the Green Wave, it’s the small things Thayer said she’s looking to iron out.
“We need to work on our communication,” Thayer said. “Nothing happens without strong communication and we were lacking in that area tonight. Lots of third party calls, not retreating, not being able to make passes because we were on top of each other. The communication has to make some improvements.”
Frontier is back in action Friday, hosting Agawam at 4 p.m. Greenfield looks to get back in the win column on Friday, going on the road to face Minnechaug.