Franklin cruised to a 5-0 win over New Bedford. (Josh Perry/HockomockSports.com)
By Josh Perry, Managing Editor
FRANKLIN, Mass. – Kelly Dubowski scored the winning goal and added two second half assists, as Franklin field hockey won its opening Division 1 South tournament game 5-0 over New Bedford on Friday afternoon at the Beaver St. field.
The Panthers absolutely dominated the first half. Franklin had 11 corners and forced 12 saves from the Whalers goalie in the opening 30 minutes, but could only manage a single goal. Emily Jeffries sent a pass to the back post where Dubowski was on hand to tap it in.
Panthers head coach Lisa Cropper had scouted the Whalers and knew that they were going to sit back and rely on their defense. She was proud of the way that the team stuck to the game plan.
“We were trying to get corners, so that we could get numbers up; [in] regular play it’s tough to crack the 11 kids in the circle. We told the kids that it may not go in on the first 10 shots, but the floodgates may open in the second half.”
Before the floodgates could open, New Bedford almost took advantage of Franklin’s inability to find a second goal. The Whalers, who had not managed to get possession in the Panthers half of the field, created a pair of corners in the final two minutes before the break. That momentum continued in the early parts of the second half, before Franklin broke the game open.
Cropper admitted, “I was a little nervous. In field hockey, like ice hockey or soccer, it just takes one goal. I’m never comfortable with a one-goal lead.”
Five minutes into the second half, senior captain Marta Vesprille doubled the Franklin lead with a solo move through the middle of the New Bedford defense. The goal seemed to break the resistance of the Whalers and Dubowski started to find more space down the left side of the Panthers attack.
It would be one of those driving runs that would lead to the third goal. Dubowski squared the ball across the face of the goal and Sammy Rondeau tapped it in to make it 3-0. With just seven minutes left, Dubowski got another assist as her shot was deflected in by Jeffries.
“She is probably our most aggressive and powerful forward,” said Cropper about Dubowski. “She uses her speed and her strength to her advantage to be able to power through kids that can’t do that. She creates numbers up for us and puts a lot of pressure on the defense.”
“Even if she doesn’t score, they’re on their heels and we’re there to pick up the rest.”
Kenzi Pleshaw tacked on a fifth goal off an assist by Ashley Conroy. The victory moves Franklin into the second round and means a trip to the grass field at Dennis-Yarmouth on Sunday.
When asked about her team’s adjustment from turf to grass, Cropper responded, “It’s supposed to be a very nice grass field, so I’m hoping that it plays like the turf, but we’ll see. We had four games on grass in the Hock and we’ve won them all.”
“I wish we had a few more days to prepare…but we’ll be ready.”
Josh Perry can be contacted at JoshPerry@hockomocksports.com and followed on Twitter at @Josh_Perry10.
FRANKLIN, Mass. – Kelly Dubowski scored the winning goal and added two second half assists, as Franklin field hockey won its opening Division 1 South tournament game 5-0 over New Bedford on Friday afternoon at the Beaver St. field.
The Panthers absolutely dominated the first half. Franklin had 11 corners and forced 12 saves from the Whalers goalie in the opening 30 minutes, but could only manage a single goal. Emily Jeffries sent a pass to the back post where Dubowski was on hand to tap it in.
Panthers head coach Lisa Cropper had scouted the Whalers and knew that they were going to sit back and rely on their defense. She was proud of the way that the team stuck to the game plan.
“We were trying to get corners, so that we could get numbers up; [in] regular play it’s tough to crack the 11 kids in the circle. We told the kids that it may not go in on the first 10 shots, but the floodgates may open in the second half.”
Before the floodgates could open, New Bedford almost took advantage of Franklin’s inability to find a second goal. The Whalers, who had not managed to get possession in the Panthers half of the field, created a pair of corners in the final two minutes before the break. That momentum continued in the early parts of the second half, before Franklin broke the game open.
Cropper admitted, “I was a little nervous. In field hockey, like ice hockey or soccer, it just takes one goal. I’m never comfortable with a one-goal lead.”
Five minutes into the second half, senior captain Marta Vesprille doubled the Franklin lead with a solo move through the middle of the New Bedford defense. The goal seemed to break the resistance of the Whalers and Dubowski started to find more space down the left side of the Panthers attack.
It would be one of those driving runs that would lead to the third goal. Dubowski squared the ball across the face of the goal and Sammy Rondeau tapped it in to make it 3-0. With just seven minutes left, Dubowski got another assist as her shot was deflected in by Jeffries.
“She is probably our most aggressive and powerful forward,” said Cropper about Dubowski. “She uses her speed and her strength to her advantage to be able to power through kids that can’t do that. She creates numbers up for us and puts a lot of pressure on the defense.”
“Even if she doesn’t score, they’re on their heels and we’re there to pick up the rest.”
Kenzi Pleshaw tacked on a fifth goal off an assist by Ashley Conroy. The victory moves Franklin into the second round and means a trip to the grass field at Dennis-Yarmouth on Sunday.
When asked about her team’s adjustment from turf to grass, Cropper responded, “It’s supposed to be a very nice grass field, so I’m hoping that it plays like the turf, but we’ll see. We had four games on grass in the Hock and we’ve won them all.”
“I wish we had a few more days to prepare…but we’ll be ready.”
Josh Perry can be contacted at JoshPerry@hockomocksports.com and followed on Twitter at @Josh_Perry10.
Ryan Lanigan is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of HockomockSports.com. You can contact him at RyanLanigan@hockomocksports.com and follow him on Twitter at @R_Lanigan.
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