Shen’s Lea Morlock strikes down Saratoga again
QUEENSBURY, N.Y. >> Some losses sting more than others.
The Saratoga Springs field hockey team checked off almost every game plan box on its checklist, more penalty corners, aggressive play and playing as a team.
The only box not checked off Wednesday afternoon at the Adirondack Sports Dome against rival Shenendehowa was the win box.
Plainsmen senior Lea Morlock scored the game-winner with 5:11 left in the scoreless contest from an assist by Rachel Stone, putting the ball up and over outstretched Blue Streak goalie Kristen Rodecker.
“The thing that led to the ball going down there and getting to Lea (Morlock) was that we actually passed, we had a couple of combinations where they actually passed the ball to each other and she was in the right place,” Shenendehowa coach Jeanne Frevola said. “When the ball
is there and she can get to it, she finishes well.”
It was the second time this year that Morlock scored the game-winner against Saratoga.
“It’s a huge milestone for me,” Lea Morlock said. “I’ve been working a lot harder this year to improve from last year, so this is definitely a big deal and I’m really excited about it.”
The contest moved quickly up and down the indoor turf at the Adirondack Sports Dome and the smooth, quick surface allowed Saratoga to pass the ball back to set up its offense time and time again.
“We played our game, it just came down to that they got an opportunity and they capitalized on it,” Saratoga Springs coach Jo-Anne Hostig said. “My goalie came out, it was a great save, and it was smart of them to put it up (and over).
The Blue Streaks put five shots on Plainsmen goalie Abby Danson with matching it with five, but Saratoga had nine penalty corner opportunities, pressuring Danson, but coming up empty.
While the Blue Streaks can also check off the ‘Played 60 minutes’ box, the Plainsmen struggled until the later stages of the contest.
“We tried to do it ourselves a lot all through the first half and it wasn’t until the end of the second half when they started to get tired that they actually started to pass the ball to each other,” Frevola said. “That helped the execution.”
That thought was not lost on her senior leader, Morlock.
“We have a lot of talented players on this team and once we start to trust each other is when things start happening,” Morlock said. “As soon as we start moving the ball and hoping that someone else will be there, knowing that someone else will be there, that’s when things happen.”
It’s not just talking the talk for Morlock this season.
“I’ve been focusing on being more of a leader for the younger kids and trying to lead by example, just being a good teammate, being a support pass, being there and hustling to the ball,” Morlock said.
Shenendehowa has claimed both regular season meetings and it has become a Section 2 tradition that both teams meet in the post season where the Blue Streaks can hope that the third time is a charm.
“We look way different than we did the first time and I think that’s going to help up as we’re moving forward, it’s just a matter of capitalizing on the opportunity,” Hostig said. “It was there, but we didn’t capitalize on it.