Hawks top Trojans, shows they’re a contender

For a team that won just one league game in the previous two seasons, Hamburg has plenty of reasons to be excited this year.

The Hawks were placed in Division IV in the realignment of the Berks Field Hockey League and on paper looked like a contender for the division title.

Hamburg made it official Saturday morning with a 3-2 victory over visiting Tulpehocken to move into the division lead.

“It feels really good to be ahead now,” said senior Kylie Christman.

Christman scored one of Hamburg’s three goals in the second half to help the

Hawks (2-2, 2-3) rally past the Trojans (1-3, 1-5).

Christman scored in the opening minutes of the third quarter to wipe out Tulpehocken’s 1-0 halftime lead. Bella Denatalahadagoal and an assist and Kylah Reading scored with 4:35 left to give the Hawks a 3-1 lead.

“It’s good that they can feel that excitement and try to keep it rolling,” said Hamburg coach Kandice Pyles. “They need to keep working hard. We’re trying really hard to get them all up to speed and keep it going.”

The Hawks had trouble getting going in the first half. Tulpehocken took a 1-0 lead in the second quarter on a goal by Averi Reisch.

The Trojans also failed to convert a penalty stroke in the second quarter.

That left the door open for Hamburg, which came out fired up in the second half to earn its second league win of the week.

“At halftime we reconnected and came out strong,” Christman said. “We’re a young team so it’s rough. But when we connect it works really well.”

Hamburg finished with a 28-19 advantage in shots. Avery Torowski made 17 saves for Hamburg while Tulpehocken goalie Sophia Courtright made 25 saves.

Reisch scored her second goal of the game in the final 10 seconds for Tulpehocken. But it wasn’t enough to prevent Hamburg from moving into first place.

“It’s super exciting,” Pyles said. “They’re working hard for being a young team.”