Following two less than auspicious performances at their own Huskies Field Hockey Invitational, the hosts responded with a strong finish on Saturday.
After enduring two shutout losses to Huron (Mich.) and Villa Duquesne (Mo.) early in the tournament, the OPRF field hockey team scored six goals and held its opponents scoreless in two games to finish third overall.
Abby Nevins, Emily Charlton and Maggie Mullins led OPRF to a 3-0 win over Stevenson on Saturday morning. All three players found the net with Nevins kicking things off on a ricochet that bounced off Stevenson’s goalie. Charlton scored on a shot 10 yards out that whizzed past the goalie. Mullins found the net after a perfect assist from junior Sarah Dorian.
The Huskies blanked Arrowhead (Wis.) 3-0 in the third-place game.
“Scoring has been what our team has struggled to overcome this season, and getting shut out twice was not what we expected to see,” said OPRF head coach Jane Graham of her team’s woes early in the tournament.
“Our games against Stevenson and Arrowhead were much more intense offensively. We worked to keep the ball in the circle and maintain our attack. Overall, we had our most offensive corners in a game as well as shots on goal.”
With four big games this week, including one against Huskie Invitational champion Lake Forest, who the Huskies fell to earlier in the season, OPRF will be looking to continue the recently discovered offensive momentum.
“We struggled so much to score and create scoring chances [in our early games], so an effective offensive display was a welcome sight,” added Graham. “Our offense stepping up will be key for us having success the remainder of the season.”
The Huskies host four straight games beginning with Stevenson on Saturday (10 a.m.).