Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
West wins first-place duel
JJ Smyth scores twice in battle with Henderson to stay perfect in league
It doesn’t really matter what point of the season it is when Downingtown West plays Henderson in field hockey. It’s always going to be a big game in regard to the Ches-Mont League National Division standings.
Both teams came into Thursday afternoon’s game unbeaten in the conference, but it was the Whippets (10-0, 7-0) who left with their record still unblemished, topping the Warriors (8-2, 6-1) by a 3-0 margin.
“We knew coming in that this was going to be a tough game,” said West coach Liz Bradley. “We really didn’t connect on our corners as well as we would have hoped. They were really quick and aggressive. In the second half we started connecting a little better and got some tips that helped us get on the board.”
Late in a back-and-forth first half, West finally broke through with a goal. Claudia Jaszczak put put the ball on the stick of Tatum Johnson, who slipped it past Hen-
derson goalie Emily Franco to put the Whippets up 1-0 with just under five minutes to play in the half.
“I was really happy with our first half, but West is a really good team that moves the ball well down the field a strikes the ball really hard into the cage,” said Henderson coach Jen O’Donnell. “In the second half we sat back a little too much. That is something we’ve done too much of and we have to fix that. But still have a lot of games to play and work that out.”
While the first half was close in just about every statistical category, the Whippets started to take control in the second, and starting getting off shot after unanswered shot. Franco did a nice job keeping West out of the cage considering the Warriors were outshot 8-1 over the course of the final 30 minutes. Franco finished with 15 saves.
Her counterpart for the Whippets, Caitlyn Coker, was barely tested, and was only credited with a pair of saves for the day, one in each half. But that is becoming commonplace for West. Since allowing three goals in a season opening win over Villa Maria, the Whippets have allowed just three goals, and just one in its last four games.
“I know we’re playing well when I don’t have to do much of anything,” said Coker. “I just have to talk and communicate. We’re communicating well on defense, talking about marking inside the circle and it’s working out well for us. We were all really excited to be put to the test by a team like Henderson, and even more excited to get the win.”
The Whippets tacked on a pair of goals in the second half to put the game away, both coming from JJ Smyth. The first came unassisted eight minutes in to the period, and then the final score came with Celina Riccardo getting credited for an assist on a goal Smyth scored in a crowd.
“That last goal was very exciting to see,” said Bradley. “Celina sent a very fast ball over to JJ inside the circle and JJ got her stick on it — it was a beautiful play.”
Downingtown West currently sits atop the District 1 power rankings, and is one of only two teams in Class 3A, with Methacton, without a loss.
“It feels great to play against a team as skilled as Henderson and come away with a win,” said Smyth. “Once we get to districts and states, every game is going to be tough, so it is good to get in tough competition now.”
Henderson came into the game ranked second in class 2A, two points behind the leader, Villa Maria.
“We have seen some tough teams already this season,” said O’Donnell. “We have a win over Unionville, and losses to Conestoga and today. These are some of the best teams in the state, but we are in a different classification and we won’t see them again. Playing these teams always helps — it really helps sharpen your game for playoff time when everyone is playing to survive.”