September 20, 2023 – Story and photos by Joshua Ross
The hours of work in the offseason appear to be paying off for the Hingham field hockey team early in the season. The passing and anticipation of where teammates will be is noticeably different this year. And with improvement in these area, comes speed and confidence, which will make this Harborwomen team a tough out for anyone.
Hingham scored three goals in the first five minutes of the game against a very good Hanover team and never looked back, cruising to a 6-1 victory. This after a shocking 1-1 tie vs Scituate last week.
“That was a wake up call for us,” head coach Susan Petrie explained after the game. “I think fitness was a bit of an issue, so we worked really hard the last few practices and it showed today. They came out on fire against a good team. To play that well against a good team sets us up and going forward shows the girls if you put the work in it pays off.”
It’s not only the work over the summer that has led to the cohesiveness, but the fact that many of her players have been playing together for years.
“Most of these girls have been playing on the field together for more than one season,” Petrie goes on to say. “So they definitely know where each other is going to be on the field. A lot of them play together in the off season and they really work at practice, and it’s just seamless, they just know where their teammates are going to be.”
The girls will have a big test on Friday as they head down to the Cape to take on Sandwich and will need to put together a full 60 minutes of play.
“They’re number three in the state right now. We purposely are challenging ourselves. We are working on defensive communication and we are still working on forwards cutting in front of the defenders and their free hits. These are the things that will make a difference in these games against bigger, fast opponents.”
GAME PHOTOS
