The ConVal field hockey ran up against the division’s best on Tuesday in a senior game showdown with Souhegan. The No. 1 Sabers won handily in a 5-0 shutout, but the Cougars put in a good effort against a top-tier opponent.
“They’re very aggressive and they’re very quick,” said ConVal head coach Kelly Shirk after the game, “and I think that was a little bit of a shock initially, but then we took a second and once we settled down a little bit, we at least pressured really well and came up with the ball and had chances up the field. But they’re very solid, so it’s hard to break through them.”
ConVal had less than a handful of opportunities on net, while Souhegan had more than their fair share, keeping Cougar keeper Kailyn Hiers busy; she’d make a number of excellent saves but was done in by some phenomenal Saber shooting.
The Cougars are 2-11-1 heading into Wednesday’s game at Merrimack Valley, out of the playoffs and still to play one more tough opponent in No. 5 Oyster River Friday at home. With no postseason to prepare for, ConVal will look to play out their schedule the right way and try to finish with some positive play.”It’s just playing as much of our game as we can,” Shirk said, “trying to put up a good fight and hopefully…at least get some opportunities on goal.”
Tuesday was ConVal’s senior game as they honored the eight senior Cougars nearing the end of their high school careers. It will be a tough group to replace, Shirk said, especially captains Makayla Lamothe, Taylor Hilton, Kaelyn Samuelson and Sophia Aiken.
Credit: BEN CONANT / For the Ledger-Transcript
“The whole senior class is a big group of friends,” Shirk said. “There’s four of them that are strong as leaders, they’re strong out there, but then they’re good with their teammates as well. So it is a big group of seniors to lose, I’ll say.”
The Cougars have a slew of skilled underclassmen, highlighted by the sophomore keeper Hiers and junior Arianna Hamlin, and an above-average team coming up next year from the middle school level.