HERE WE GO AGAIN
Burnt Hills, Shenendehowa set for rematch of 2019 title game on Monday night
BURNT HILLS, NY » On Monday night Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake will play host in a rematch of the 2019 Section 2, Class A field hockey championship game.
The eight-time defending Section 2 champions will face off against Shenendehowa for the first time in the 2020 season at 5 p.m. and both team are looking forward to the matchup.
“Shen is always one of my favorite games and they’re always our biggest competition,” said Burnt Hills senior Paige Thowe. “It’s going to be a great game and it’s always something that I look forward to.”
Both the Spartans and Plainsmen got on the field on Sunday for a practice to prepare for the rivalry game. The Shen girls begun their day early, with an 8 a.m. practice.
“I think that they’re excited to play somebody who is also strong in the league. It’ll be a good game,” said Shen coach Jeanne Frevola.
“They were talking about who their best players are at practice, they all play ADK together. They know the kids since they see each other weekly when they’re playing in
the offseason. I think that helps to build the competition.”
The Spartans come into the game on Monday night with a 3- 0 record, including victories over Saratoga, Shaker and Niskayuna. Shenendehowa’s game on Saturday against Niskayuna was postponed, though the Plainsmen had defeated Columbia and Shaker to begin their season.
“All the competition has been great this year and I think everyone has built off of last season,” said Shen senior Rachel Sterle. “Playing against all the other teams, including Burnt Hills last year, we learned from our weaknesses to get stronger for this year.” She continued. “I’m really looking forward to finishing out the season with the rest of my teammates and to try to stay undefeated for the whole year.”
Barring an indecisive tie, either the Spartans or the Plainsmen will leave Monday night undefeated, and the other with a loss.
Both teams have relatively similar looks from 2019, although Shen is down two of their Division 1 players. Abby Danson, Shen’s goalie from last season, is now playing for Ohio State and defender Grace DeChiro is now at Providence.
“Our backup goalie from last year, Payton Kisling is very, very strong, but Abby was probably one of the best goalies to come out of the Suburban Council in a long time,” Frevola said. “I think this year we’re trying to play more as a team and use our teammates a little bit better than we did.”
“I have almost everybody else back. Everybody else who was a contributor on the offense is back, nobody graduated there, so it’s a very similar team.”
One thing that Shen has been working on is their penalty corners, spending 15-20 minutes of practice on their corner plays.
Sterle, a Syracuse commit, talked about what the return to the field was like for her and her Shen teammates.
“The first game back was crazy and a little nerve racking. We were a little nervous to come back, but I love playing withmy team and we’ve done a really good job working together as a group,” she said. “Getting back to playing with my teammates at Shen, instead of at a club, has probably meant the most to me.”
Those club games that Sterle plays with ADK are also with players from Burnt Hills.
“Alot of us play together. Over there we all play and practice together and we help to make each other better and then we’re back to being opponents during the regular school season,” Thowe added. “Playing with all of them and having that experience I think helps to make the games more competitive and more fun.”
Even through nothing is set, these teams are hoping that their regular season matchups aren’t the only times they see each other this season.
“I think if we do well on Monday that will se the tone for the rest of the season and definitely the championship, if there is one. It’ll boost our confidence in what can can all do together,” Thowe said as she and her teammates practiced in the late afternoon on Sunday.
The Burnt Hills senior, who is still searching for a good college fit, also talked about how meaningful this season is to her.
“We have eight seniors, who are all girls that I’ve been playing with for awhile now. It feels really good to go out and play with them. We’ve gotten really close and it was hard not knowing if we were going to have a season. Being able to come back and play together and finish my high school career with all of them really means a lot.”
The initial thought for a Suburban Council playoff would be the third week of November, and the players and coaches are likely hoping that those games would be inside.
“I have a lot of memories from the section game last year, but mostly being able to carry on the sectional title streak that we have,” Thowe said. “Carrying that on is probably the most memorable. Our whole season is essentially preparing for that game, to get to the championship and to carry on the streak of sectional titles, so that feeling after winning was extremely rewarding.”
Burnt Hills coach Kelly Vrooman, who refers to Thowe are the Spartan’s workhorse, is extremely high on her senior.
“Paige sets everything up for us and really manages the middle of the field. She doesn’t always get the credit she deserves because she’s not out there scoring goals or getting assists, but she does pretty much everything else for us. She’s a dangerous player for us and you can’t overlook her,” Vrooman said.
Whatever the outcome of the game on Monday, there is a common theme of players and coaches just being thankful to have the opportunity to play, especially in a meaningful game.
“We’re all excited. I mean, we get excited for every game, but especially a game against Shen, we’re all really excited and ready to go hard,” Thowe said.