LONGMEADOW — Opening the season on the road against the defending Division 1 state finalists? The schedule makers presented quite the challenge for the Greenfield field hockey team Wednesday.
The Green Wave hung around into the fourth quarter, before host Longmeadow High School scored two goals in a span of 1 minute, 6 seconds to create some breathing room and secure a 4-0 victory in the Suburban League opener for both teams.
It’s a step up in competition this season for both Greenfield (0-1) and Frontier, which were realigned into the Suburban with powerhouses like Longmeadow and Minnechaug. The Lancers, which reached the state final in Division 1 the last time postseasons were contested in 2019, are expected to once again be in the statewide tournament discussion.
“The girls hung in there as best as they could and I was psyched to see that,” offered Greenfield coach Erin Thayer. “We definitely got tired in the second half and couldn’t recover to mark the way we needed to.”
Greenfield goalie Ainslee Flynn came up big on several occasions in the first half to keep the Green Wave within shouting distance. Flynn’s best work came just before halftime, when she darted side to side in the cage to make a flurry of stops just before the whistle blew. Her efforts had the visitors down just 1-0 at intermission. She finished with 12 saves on the afternoon.
“Ainslee played her tail off,” lauded Thayer. “She had a great game and made some great saves.”
Longmeadow’s firepower eventually broke through. Audrey Oh made it 2-0 when she found the back of the net nearly six minutes into the third quarter, and while Greenfield’s defense, buoyed by Tess Rancourt, kept that deficit in check into the fourth quarter, the Lancers put it away late. Riley Harrington and Oh scored back-to-back goals midway through the final stanza to create the 4-0 cushion.
“We’re varsity inexperienced and it showed, particularly in the second half,” said Thayer.
Longmeadow finished with a 16-0 edge in shots on goal, and the Lancers held a 9-6 advantage in penalty corners. Greenfield’s best offensive possession came midway through the third quarter when the club earned four consecutive corners before the Lancers finally cleared the zone.
Regan Ryzcek got the scoring started just five minutes into regulation when she buried a shot from Harrington to make it 1-0.
Greenfield settled into the flow of the game from there however, led by the play of Lillia Kachelmeyer in the middle of the field.
“It’s a starting point for us,” Thayer said of the loss. “We’ll grow from here. It’s good to see where we are against a really good team and figure out where our weaknesses are and what we need to do to fix them. We’ll learn from the mistakes and hopefully see improvements.”
Greenfield will host Longmeadow for the rematch on Oct. 5. Next up is a home game Friday against West Springfield.