Falmouth Dominates D-Y, But Ties

By: Rich Maclone
Published: 10/15/10

Statistically Dennis-Yarmouth didn’t come close to hanging with the Falmouth Clippers on Wednesday afternoon. The FHS field hockey team gave one of its most dominant showings of the season, cutting the field in half for nearly the entire 60 minutes, and they had the Dolphins on their heels from the opening whistle.

But the scoreboard does not take stats into account. At the end they were dead even, 1-1.

“We definitely did (dominate), but that’s been our problem all year -- scoring goals,” Head Coach Janey Norton said. “We’re taking shots that aren’t from advantageous angles and we’ve got to get in there and do a better job of disrupting the goalie.”

FHS outshot D-Y by a 9-3 margin for the game and owned a 13-3 advantage in penalty corners. But the Clippers were also the leaders in MOs, missed opportunities. Falmouth had several chances to score before they did, and to add another after D-Y struck, but each time they were left stymied.

The game took on a physical tone from the outset, and that suited the Clippers just fine as they took it to D-Y. The Dolphins would manage just one shot on Mikaela Beaton during the opening 30 minutes and did not have a single penalty corner. With Kat Estes, Amy Wilson, and Kristen Estes leading the charge from the defensive side of things, FHS was able to keep the ball moving forward and had the Dolphins on their heels.

FHS nearly took the lead midway through the first on a great bid by Aly Skelly, who fired a shot from the middle that the keeper kicked aside. Seconds later, on a penalty corner, Wilson let one fly that went just wide of the cage.

In the second half the Clippers finally struck, just short of eight minutes into the half. Jenny List collected the ball just outside the circle and let a hard shot fly towards the D-Y cage that Skelly was able to tip from about 12 feet in front. Skelly’s deflection sent the ball into the air, about waist-high, and Ellen McDonald came up with one of the team’s best plays of the season as the forward swung her stick like a baseball bat and hit a line drive by the goalie, from the doorstep, to put the Clippers on top, 1-0.

While that goal gave FHS the lead, it also seemed to awaken the Dolphins. The Atlantic Coast League’s first place team, which had beaten FHS, 4-2, on its home field a few weeks back, started to play with much more heart and fire and began to mix it up with Falmouth. FHS was able to hold them back for a while, but D-Y finally broke through with 12:09 left in the contest as they cashed in the last of three consecutive penalty corners that they were awarded. Jackie Holohan pushed home a shot from just in front of the Falmouth goal to knot things up.

After that the momentum carried back Falmouth’s way, but the Clippers were unable to get another. With just over eight minutes left, Anna Bohnenberger unloaded a bomb from the top of the circle, on a penalty corner, that the keeper was able to kick out with her left foot. Skelly got the rebound but sent it just wide of the far post.

With time expiring, FHS got two more penalty corners. Unfortunately, they did not get a shot on net and the final whistle announced the end of a great game with a frustrating conclusion for the Clippers.

Weather permitting, Falmouth (6-1-3) will visit Plymouth South today for a 3:30 PM game. The Clippers need just one more point in the standings to earn a spot in the MIAA state tournament.

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