CCHS Field Hockey Team Bounces Back for Victory

After a tough loss in their season opener against Acton-Boxborough High School, the Concord-Carlisle High School field hockey team bounced back Wednesday with a hard fought 2-1 victory at home against Westford Academy.

The Patriots struck first with a goal in the 24^th minute by senior co-captain Caitlin Guiney, who was assisted by junior Christina Erne. Westford Academy evened things up just two minutes later

But in the game's 10^th minute, Concord-Carlisle's Sarah Bagley gave her team the deciding goal advantage on an assist by Guiney. 

The rest of the match played out in a back-and-forth fashion with neither side able to really take over.

"That often happens with two teams that are fairly evenly matched which ours are," Patriots Head Coach Betsy Smith said. "One team will get a goal and the next team will get a goal and then nothing much happens because the play is just going back and forth and back and forth."

Concord-Carlisle will play again Monday when it hosts Arlington High School.

The Patriots dominated in penalty corners with a significant 13-2 advantage, but only managed two shots on goal to Westford Academy's seven. 

"I have to say that senior Monica Diercks was a standout (in the season opener) and she was again today," Smith said. "She's just done a terrific job and is probably the standout of the season so far."

Diercks finished with six saves. 

With their record at 1-1 so early in the season, Smith believes her team has been consistent, but need to be more forceful on the attack.

Despite losing in the opener, in the eyes of their coach, the Patriots performance in a tough loss to Acton-Boxborough was just as, if not more, impressive than their win on Wednesday.

"I actually thought they played better yesterday, losing to A-B than they played today against Westford," she said. "Strange enough as it may seem, we need to be more aggressive to the ball."

With Diercks leading the way, the Patriots displayed a defensive mindset that allowed them to hang on for the victory despite being out shot severely.

"I think that we're a gritty team so we hung in there," Smith said. "Out defense has done a pretty good job and I think it's the defense that probably saved us today, even though we had two really nice goals."