By Rachel Stanton, GiGi Anello and Emily Curtis
The Walpole Porkers lost to the Duxbury Dragons 3-2 at Walpole High School, on Monday, Nov. 6 in the Quarter Final of the MIAA Field Hockey South Division 1 Bracket.
In the first half, the Porker’s controlled the ball, but couldn’t find the back of the net.
“The ball was rarely in our defensive zone,” sophomore Sophia Pacella said.
By putting the pressure down in Duxbury’s defensive end, the Porkers put the first number up on the scoreboard with a goal from senior Alex Rodia.
“As a forward, my job is to put the ball in the back of the net and having my team get so excited when it went in was such an accomplished feeling,” Alex said.
For Alex, this goal was special.
“I had scored in other games, but this being such a high stakes game, it was great to put us ahead,” Alex said.
Less than a minute later, the Dragons returned with a goal to even up the score at half time.
The pressure was on as it was nearly half-way through the final half of the game, when a stroke was called in favor of Walpole. Head Coach Jenn Quinn selected Sami Rodia, a consistent stroker for the Porkers, to take the penalty shot. She missed the net and the score remained tied.
“After the stroke I felt crushed,” Sami said. ” I have practiced them so many times during practice and I make them almost every single time. I was in disbelief and I feel as though I let the team down.”
Nearing the end of the game, Duxbury put another one in; however, the Porkers were not ready to accept defeat and called a time-out with two minutes left.
“We might’ve been down, but it definitely didn’t stop us,” Pacella said.
As the Porker’s stepped onto the field after the time-out, they rallied and played with renewed speed.
With 1:28 left junior Hanna Jacobs notched a goal to send the Porkers into overtime.
“We did a lot of 7v7 in practice that helped our team get the feel for what it was like to play down in overtime,” Pacella said.
Just five minutes into overtime, Duxbury received an offensive corner, when a straight shot deflected off the pads of sophomore goalie GiGi Anello and hit the back of the net.
The final score was 3-2, and the Porkers left the field in defeat.
“It is a moment I continue to replay in my head over and over and I still can’t believe it happened,” said Rodia in disbelief of the loss.
