Abigail Olden took advantage of an opportunity to achieve a major milestone.
The Belchertown senior needed eight points ahead of Tuesday’s game against Palmer to reach 100 for her field hockey career — a chasm.
But Olden recognized the increased difficulty of the Orioles upcoming schedule with three games remaining in the regular season and called her shot.
“The next few games are going to be tough, so I wouldn’t have as many opportunities. I wanted to use this game to bring me opportunities,” Olden said. “It was definitely pressure to get it (Tuesday) because I knew if I didn’t get it, I might not have enough chances. I was thankful to my team.”
Olden rose to the pressure, putting away seven goals with an assist in a 9-0 win. The 100th point came on a goal from Molly Mazzaferro.
“Every point I would get, every goal I would score, they were counting down,” Olden said. “When I finally got it, they were throwing a party over there.”
Bella Cebula assisted three of the goals, while Karyna Rondeau, Brooke Stelmokas and Mazzaferro added one helper each. Mazzaferro also put away the final goal unassisted.
Eliza Rothstein made the only save she needed to for the shutout.
“This team this year is super supportive of one another. They’re close knit. I could feel their love and support after every point I’d score,” Olden said. “I’m definitely going to remember this team for a while. I’ve been playing with these people for 10 years. It makes me super sentimental.”
Olden has 79 goals and 21 assists in her career. She’s put up 24 goals and seven assists in 12 games this season for Belchertown (9-2-1, 9-1 County).