Field Hockey: Skippers Cruise Past Cumberland in 2-0 Victory

Freshman Olivia Baxter recorded the first goal of her young career and senior Amanda Cirillo stopped the only shot on goal that she saw as the Skippers field hockey team defeated divisional rival Cumberland 2-0 Wednesday night at the Anthony C. Perry Athletic Complex.

"This game was very important especially because (Cumberland) is in our division," said NK coach Julie Maguire. "We need all the games within our division that we can get."

Just four minutes into the contest, the Skippers took advantage of a penalty corner when junior Taylor Butler ripped a shot that deflected off of a Clipper defender. Baxter positioned herself for a rebound and shot just past the right pad of Cumberland goaltender Rebecca Geddes. The goal gave North a 1-0 lead.

Just two minutes later, NK was back on the attack as Baxter found herself on the doorstep again. From nearly an identical spot as her previous goal, the freshman tried sneaking a ball to the short side of Geddes. The shot was out of Geddes' reach, but she was picked up by sophomore sweeper Arianna Coutu who deflected the ball safely out of bounds.

"The speed with which (Baxter) plays and her aggressiveness are her biggest contributions," said Maguire. "We need to work on her field positioning but she is extremely aggressive."

NK dominated the possession battle for the entire 60 minutes of action, out-shooting the Clippers by a staggering 25-1 advantage.

"We're getting more shots every game, but we're still not finding the back of the net. (Geddes) is probably one of the best goalies in the league," added the NK coach.

The senior goalie was up to the task, stopping 23 shots. Geddes has been the backbone of the Clippers team all season.

"(Geddes) is a great goalie. She keeps us in a lot of the games," said Cumberland coach Stefanie Capone-Bello.  "She's had as many as 50 saves in a game."

The NK lead stayed at one for a majority of the game as chances kept going by the board for the Skippers. In the 39th minute, junior Kim Guilbault let a shot go from about 15 yards out headed for a teammate at the near post. The thick bumpy grassy of NK's home field got the best of the ball, as it hopped just over the stick and out of bounds.

Just two minutes later, persistence finally paid off for the Skippers.  Sophomore Holly Bobola battled five yards out and came out of a sea of Cumberland defenders with the ball. Bobola was able to get a pass off to junior Brittany Horner who fired a shot hard at Geddes' stick.  The ball deflected high and crossed the endline for NK's second tally of the game.

The Skippers kept pushing, and it appeared as if they would be able to put another goal on the board when senior Sam Leonard was assessed a penalty stroke with 18 minutes to go. Her shot went to Geddes' right but rang off the goal post.

Cumberland's final opportunity came with 9:36 to go, but a breakaway was stopped dead in its tracks by the strong NK back line around midfield.

The win improves NK's record to 4-1 in league play, while Cumberland drops to 2-3

GAME NOTES:

NK goaltender Cirillo stopped the only shot she saw on a penalty corner...NK earned 11 corners to Cumberland's 3...Cirillo has shut out her opponent in all four NK victories this season...NK returns to action Friday afternoon at 3:45 against St. Mary Academy-Bay View at home.