Waldeck hat trick sinks Chelmsford
Concord-carlisle junior scores three goals in second-round win
concord » Once was not enough for Grace Waldeck.
The junior sniper scored two goals in the first half and added a third in the second for the hat trick, as the third-ranked Concord-carlisle field hockey team shut out 14th-seeded Chelmsford, 3-0, in the second round of the Div. 1 tournament.
“It was great,” said Waldeck. “It was so fun and so exciting. I hope we can go all the way.”
With the win Chelmsford advances to host sixth-seeded Wellesley, in the Div. 1 quarterfinals Thursday evening at 5:30 p.m.
According to Concord-carlisle coach Jacqui Turner, her team worked seamlessly in all three zones, from forwards to defense and goaltending.
“I’m so proud of them,” Turner said. “It’s a great team win. These girls deserve it. I’m glad they were able to put it together tonight.”
For Chelmsford coach Susan D’agostino, it was a tough way to go out.
“I don’t want to make any excuses,” said D’agostino. “We’ve had some changes in our lineup lately because of injuries, so we had to do a lot of adapting. We’re also a team that says if anyone goes out, we all step it up. I think the team did a real great job of stepping it up tonight.”
“I don’t know really what went wrong, because we laid it all out there,” D’agostino added. “Concord-carlisle is just an amazing team, great passing, very skilled. So many of their players play club together. It’s a beautiful thing to watch, as a field hockey enthusiast myself.”
Concord-carlisle worked like a well-oiled machine for much of the first quarter, outshooting the Lions by a 5-0 margin. Waldeck led the charge, taking advantage of the crisp playmaking of senior quad-captains Mia Mckennitt and Bailey Mcintyre. The power trio combined on what proved to be the gamewinning tally just 3:23 into the contest.
“I think that really came from a big cross on the right