Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
D-West tops D-East with big 2nd half
No matter the sport, and no matter the record, it is always special when Downingtown East meets Downingtown West. Thursday night at Kottmeyer Stadium when the Cougars squared off with the Whippets in field hockey, there was more intrigue than the usual East-West rivalry, though.
The two teams came into the game tied atop the Ches-Mont National standings, with the winner putting themselves in the driver’s seat for a league title. In the District 1 Class 3A rankings, the Whippets sat at number nine, while the Cougars were just one spot behind at 10. And for West coach Steph Bullock, who coached at East for a decade, it was the first time she coached against her old school.
But while the Cougars hung tough through the first half, the second half was all Whippets (72,6-1), as West scored three unanswered goals in the second half to top East (8-3, 5-2) by a score of 6-1.
“Not gonna lie, it was little weird coaching against Downingtown East,” said Bullock. “It’s
always a fun to get to coach in, but it was definitely a little odd coaching from the other side. We came in with very similar records, and getting in to the heart of the league schedule, so this was a big win for us.”
Barely a minute had passed before the Whippets had the ball inside the circle and forced a penalty corner, and forced three more over the next four minutes before finally getting on the board. JJ Smythe sent a pass into Mia Garber, who slammed it home for the early lead.
The Whippets controlled possession for much of the first half, and it was a full seven minutes before East even crossed the ball over midfield and into its offensive half of the field. The Whippets scored another pair of goals in the half, one from Smythe and another from Ciana Riccardo, with Claudia Jaszczak assisting on both.
“We did a really nice job working the ball up the field, finding each other and getting our passes off,” said Jaszczak, who had a goal along with her two assists. “Every year this is the biggest game on the schedule. We just worked really well together and it’s just always fun to get a win over East.”
The Cougars lone goal came just before the half, when Caroline Webb converted a corner, taking a straight shot from the top of the circle to cut the Whippet lead to 3-1 at the break.
“Our transitions were great today, working the ball inside out and using their lanes,” said Bullock. “And our speed. They were so fast out there tonight.”
The second half was all Whippets, with goals coming from Riccardo, Jaszczak and Garber. In the end, the Whippets held an 11-4 edge in corners—with all of East’s coming in the first half—and outshot the Cougars 10-4.
West hopes to keep the momentum going as the face a monster schedule over the next eight days, with five games in the span. Three of those game come against teams ranked in the top twenty nationally— Eastern (No. 1), Villa Maria (3) and Hershey (18).
“We just want to build on each game and carry the momentum,” said Bullock. “We don’t have an easy schedule, but that will just make us a better team in the long run.”