We knew PW had hit their stride in the season by looking at their recent scores. They had been scoring a lot of goals against their last few opponents. We wanted to limit their goal scoring by playing more defensively. We also worked on a defensive pressure system to try to slow them down, but with only one day of practice this week, it took a while to figure it out. Once we got it going, it worked well for the last 3 quarters and we were able to limit them to 2 goals over 3 quarters.
Also, our varsity goalie was out, so our two backup goalies Ash Conrad and Tierney Hogan played with strength and confidence under a lot of pressure as they split time. The Colonials had 17 penalty corners and only scored off one. The ball was in our defensive circle a lot. Hogan ended with 13 saves and Conrad made 19 saves. I was proud of our two goalies being ready to come in and play that well without much varsity experience. This is also a testament to how accepting and inclusive our team is to everyone - no matter what grade or what skill level. All team members support each other in practice and games and our seniors lead the way with supporting and cheering on the under classmen.

Also playing well for the Bears was defensive standout Kelly Bates as she was able to make many tackles to get possession and progress the ball to the attack. Her free hits often sparked the attack.
Also leading the Bears on both attack and defensively were Midfielders Cambrie Richmond, Melissa Torpey and Ella Gould.