Neither the cold and dreary weather, nor the intimidating red and black uniforms of the Wellesley field hockey team could stop the Porkers from winning the Bay State League Championships for the twenty eighth time in Porker history. This victory, solidifying their impressive 15-2-1 record, once again portrays the Porkers ability to remain indomitable, as they hold the title of the number one team in the Bay State League.
However this triumph comes after a rough game, when the Porkers played against Dedham High School. In Walpole’s game against Dedham, the Porkers started the game strong and even made Dedham a little nervous, as junior Stephanie Frye scored immediately on Walpole’s first attempt down the field. Then, Dedham ignited into action and fought back against Walpole. The Porkers spent most of the first half struggling to gain possession of the ball, as there was a lot of back and forth action between the two teams. As this wavering continued throughout most of the game, Dedham scored with thirty seconds left in the first half on Walpole’s goalie, junior Hannah Rockwood, to tie the game 1-1.
After the first half, the Porkers headed back out onto the field, but they were not able to redeem themselves. They failed to score on corners, and then they lost another opportunity when Dedham made a nice save against senior Emily Painten’s free stroke. With only a few minutes left in the game, both teams stepped up their game. Juniors Kelly Burke and Liz Malone all attempted to score. However, it was not enough for Walpole to end with anything but a 1-1 tie.
In the last game of the regular season, the Porkers at number two in their division were matched up against the number one team, Wellesley for the title of the Bay State League Champions. The game got off to a quick start as Liz Malone scored in the first thirty seconds after an assist from senior captain Taylor Silvestro. The ball remained down Walpole’s offensive side for most of the game. After a nice block by Kelly Duffy on defense, she brought it up the field and passed it off to Burke who gave it to Painten to score Walpole’s goal number two. Wellesley then took the ball through the circle, but did not score as there were no teammates there to retrieve the ball.
After the half though, the competition got tougher. Walpole was involved in a few defensive corners. Amanda Waldron sprinted down the field to bail the Porkers out of Wellesley’s trap. Shortly after, Frye brought the ball back to Walpole’s goal end. Liz Malone took control from there and made a nice drive into the goal, yet it was later called back. With fifteen minutes left in the game, sophomore Caroline Malone made a pass to sister Liz Malone in front of the goal, but Wellesley made an excellent save to Malone’s stoke.
With 4:30 left in the game, Silvestro brought the ball back to the 40 yard line, and took it down the midfield to Liz Malone. After the timeout, Caroline Malone took the ball from Wellesley down the midfield, but was quickly stopped by Wellesley’s goalie. Liz Malone then took over, and kept control of the ball until the clock ran out.
After winning the Bay State League Championships, the Porkers have advanced into the tournament. They defeated Hingham in the first round of the tournament on Saturday, after a 2-0 win. The Porkers will move forward to play Dennis-Yarmouth in the quarter finals competition on Monday, November 3 at 2:30pm.
