Bolon scores twice as Warriors shut out Hornets

OXFORD — Conditions were less than conducive to sharply executed field hockey, with a slow but steady drizzle adding a slippery element to the grass field at Oxford.

But it didn’t seem to affect the Henderson Warriors one bit, as they notched a pair of goals in each half on the way to a 4-0 shutout of the Hornets in a Ches-Mont matchup.

“The kids adjusted quickly to the conditions, learning that they had to take quick, little steps and make quick little passes,’ said Henderson coach Jen O’Donnell. “It was really slippery out there. At times it seemed like you might want to strap on the skates. But I’m really happy with the way they played—they moved the ball around well and did the little things they needed to do.’

Henderson finally broke the scoreless tie after a little over 20 minutes of controlling possession. Awarded a penalty corner with just under ten minutes to go, the Warriors started pounding the cage, with Brianna Bolon eventually grabbing hold of a rebound and depositing it in the back fo a 1-0 Henderson lead.

Emma Betrando made it 2-0 with a goal just before the half, accepting a pass from Ryann Bauer and knocking it in with 18 seconds left in the half.

“These are our last few games of the season, so we wanted to come out strong,’ said Bolon. “This is about how we want to approach the game, working on passes and picking up the intensity, scoring goals early.’

There was little time wasted in getting another score on the board in the second half, as Bolon, with an assist to Bertrando, converted on another penalty corner just over two minutes in to make it 3-0.

Henderson’s final goal came with 5:30 to play when Bauer fed Olivia Schwartz with a pass, and Schwartz banged it home round out the scoring at 4-0.

“Our main priority right now is to get a good seed in districts,’ said Bolon. “We would really like to see if we can even exceed what we did last year. We started a little slowly as we all tried to learn where each other would be and what our roles are. It’s a different dynamic from last year. But I think we’ve really come together as a team and we’re playing well.’

Heading into the final week of play, the Warriors are assured of a slot in the District 1 Class AAA playoffs. With each win, Henderson hopes to move up the line in the seeding, with their sights set on defending it’s district crown.

“It’s been a good, growing season,’ said O’Donnell. “Every game is different, which is what you’d expect from a young team. We spent some time trying to find ourselves, moving players around in search of that magic combination, and we have found a couple that we think will work. I think that the girls that were here last year believe that they can play and do well. And some of the younger girls are starting to realize that we’ve got a pretty good team here.’

For the Hornets, it’s time to shake things off and get to work winning its final two games against Octorara and Kennett. A pair of wins and the Hornets, too, will find themselves in the District tournament.

“We came in to today knowing that this would be a big win for us if we won,’ said Oxford coach Anne Marie Anderson. “It didn’t turn out the way we wanted, but now it’s just even more important to learn from these last couple games against the Downingtowns, and Henderson, correct our mistakes, and finish strong. We have two, we feel, winnable games left on the schedule. We just need to re-focus, play hard and get those wins so we can move on to districts.’