No defeat for Eagles, as AACS ties Indian Creek field hockey in overtime

For Indian Creek, finishing out overtime with a tie came as a relief. It’s a lot better than the alternative it suffered in its last two extra-time bouts. The Eagles broke their pattern of falling short in overtime, enduring sweltering heat to stay knotted with Annapolis Area Christian School, 1-1.

 

“They just worked so incredibly hard. It was such a team effort of every day pushing in practice, to finish the game the way we did," said senior captain Sonia Homick, who scored Indian Creek’s lone goal.

Though AACS departed Crownsville without its seventh win in grasp, coach Mary Cannon didn’t view the outcome as a negative, especially as her grass-trained squad began to find its groove on Indian Creek’s turf later in the game. “I don’t consider that a loss," Cannon said. "I think that watching them play, play the game well and with character — they were even checking on other people — those are the things a coach walks away feeling like they’ve won.”

Though both teams confined early action to about a 60-yard chunk of the midfield, Indian Creek pulled a trio of corners at the AACS (6-2-1) cage, most that fizzled on the stick of a visiting defender. The last slammed the post off the stick of senior captain Elizabeth Foster, who sang “when you try your best, but you don’t succeed” as she and the other Eagles trotted back to the bench for a mandatory water break.

But her squad would succeed. After the break, Indian Creek junior Olivia Maisano pecked a shot off AACS keeper Gracie Brewster, who stopped it — for the moment. That’s when Homick, rejuvenated by the stop of play, swooped down and flicked in the rebound to score. “I think they were not covering the post as much and I was just able to take that opportunity," Homick said. "Afterwards, they kind of beefed up more on defense. We had more opportunities; we just had the struggle of getting around them once they learned to drop more, push back more.”

“She’s absolutely the vocal leader. She leads by example — just pure effort and heart. She wants it really bad. She is unselfish in her play. She’s always encouraging others to follow her example," Indian Creek coach Jesse Larson said. "Liz Foster is our other captain, Kendyl Underwood is our other captain. Between the three of them, we probably have some of the strongest leadership that we’ve had in years. All of them lead by example as well as in their words of encouragement.”

AACS had its own firepower it was ready to unleash. After an Indian Creek corner shot attempt whizzed past goal, AACS sophomore McKenna Steinau collected it and stormed the host’s circle on a breakaway, colliding with Underwood in goal — but no score. Inspired by her younger teammate’s efforts, senior Livy Lenhart did the same, speeding on the Indian Creek net with a would-be goal loaded — but it wouldn’t break through the Eagles’ defenses. Yet. “Perseverance. She doesn’t give up," Cannon said. "She continues to push and she continues to play.” Seven minutes into the second half, Lenhart plucked the ball from 50 yards out and took off running with Indian Creek defenders falling away. Though Underwood braced herself to meet her, Lenhart ducked low and slotted the equalizer in the corner. “I was ready for a goal. It was too long without scoring," Lenhart said. "My team really opened the space for me, I happened to find a gap. It felt good. I was like, ‘Let’s go!'”

As both teams tried to snap the tie, they hit a wall. In facing overtime, Lenhart credited her coaches for rallying her freshmen-and-sophomore-dominated squad. “We got out there, we knew what the goal was in mind," the senior said. "Indian Creek’s always a tough opponent, they’ve got some key players, but we came out there, rallied and put what we had to offer on the field and gave all we have.”

Homick did the same, reminding her teammates of the sting of falling in extra time, as they had twice already. “Let’s not be in this position again,” she said, “let’s win this time.”

From Larson’s perspective, the fact that Indian Creek kept pace with its rivals for 10 minutes of sudden death play had to do with a heavy focus on fitness in practice. “Our fitness levels are better, so we’re able to keep up with the 50-yard runs that happen in overtime," the coach said. "Compared to even the Friends game last week, they outran us and scored a goal. This time, that didn’t happen, so that’s a major improvement.”

As both teams earned corners in the frame, defenders in blue and white hastily fended off any would-be goals until time expired. The similarities between the two teams — both shaped by a majority of underclassmen — wasn’t a frustration in Lenhart’s eyes, despite the even end result.

“I think it shows us we have a shot at this, even though we’re young," Lenhart said. "We are in the C conference, but I think we have a very competitive conference. I think it’s going to be a great season. We’re a force to reckon with.”

This story was originally published in the October 3 Capital Gazette News.