Hamilton earns Senior Day win over Ewing

HAMILTON >> If ever a group of seniors deserved a victory on Senior Day, it was this year’s crop of Hamilton West field hockey upperclassmen due to where they have brought the program in four years.

And they got what they deserved with 1:59 remaining in the game when senior Madyson Yousko converted a pass from classmate Shaye Kavanagh to give the Hornets a 1-0 victory over Ewing on Monday.

How important was the win to Kavanagh? Let’s just say she spared her mother from writing a lifetime of absentee notes.

“I told everyone if we lost, I was never coming back to school ever again,” Kavanagh said.

The victory puts Hamilton (4-3-1) over .500 this late in the season for the first time in anyone’s memory, and much of that has to do with the nine 12th-graders on the team. As freshmen and sophomores they won one game each season. Last year the Hornets improved to 4-10-1 and notched the first state tournament win in school history.

West has equaled that 2014 win total with seven less losses

The victory came after Ewing (1-7) looked like anything but a team that has been shutout in seven straight games. The Blue Devils possessed in the Hornets end of the field for well over the game’s first 20 minutes, and had some moments where they put a little pressure on. But goalie Alyssa Langevin and her defense did not wilt and Hamilton finally got into the attacking zone for the final eight minutes of the half.

“I think we realized it’s our senior day, and we’re at home,” Kavanagh said. “I know all the seniors wanted it and we had a little talk with coach G (Judy Goldstein) and we got it down there.”

“The first half I felt we kind of just hunkered down,” Goldstein said. “We were just seeing what they would do, and it was an address-whatever-they-do type of deal.”

In the second half there weren’t a lot of chances but Hamilton had a little better of the play. The game looked like it was headed into overtime when suddenly, Yousko and Kavanagh worked their magic.

The two got down field quickly and within a mass of Blue Devils Kavanagh returned a ball to Yousko, who slipped it over the goal line.

It came from within what looked like chaos.

“It was,” Yousko said. “It was a little bit messy there. It was just confusing. I passed it to Shaye, she passed it back and I kind of like, hit it and it found its way in the goal.”

Kavanagh, Yousko and Goldstein all thought the game was headed for overtime.

“No way I thought we were going down there and scoring,” the coach said. “We had a lot of opportunities, we kept hitting our feet with it or missed the goal cage. But you just never know, every game. You never know where their mind is at and today they were on. They wanted to win this game for their Senior Day.”

And a well-deserved win it was.