Early goals lead Windham varsity field hockey to preseason win over Marshwood

Windham High senior Hannah Heanssler is first to the ball
during a varsity field hockey preseason scrimmage game
against Marshwood on Monday, Aug. 29 at Windham.
PHOTO BY MATT PASCARELLA

By Matt Pascarella 

The Windham High School varsity field hockey team scored early in their preseason scrimmage against Marshwood, at home on Monday, Aug. 29 and from there, the Lady Eagles’ passing coupled with strong defense kept Marshwood at bay, handing Windham a 4-1 victory.

Windham sophomore Grace Joly scored first, followed by Windham sophomore Zoe Dries off a pass from senior Hannah Heanssler. Dries scored again in the third quarter and Heanssler scored in the fourth quarter.

Marshwood was able to score one goal, but that was all that the Windham defense would allow for the full 60 minutes.

“I think they played great,” said Windham varsity field hockey coach Tiff Theriault. “We’ve been working a lot on quick passes in practice and being low and they did that really, really well today. The passing game was better than I’ve seen in a long time.”

Theriault said the team’s communication was good, but it was nice to see the quick passes they’ve been working on during practices pay off. 

Windham pressured Marshwood right from the start. They had several shots at goal early on and while Windham’s offense and defense were strong, and they kept the ball more toward the Marshwood side of the field.

Windham players continued to be aggressive and played solid defense right up until the end of the first half with the Lady Eagles ahead, 2-0.

“I think field hockey is all about teamwork,” said Joly. “Everyone has to work together to get those passes to click.”

She said she thought this first scrimmage went very well and it shows that the team can work really hard together to get the win. According to Joly the team’s crosses, receiving and quick shots were all positives during the game.

Windham’s intensity did not dip in the second half. Dries scored early into the half, and Windham offense did not let up as they took more shots at goal during the third quarter.

Marshwood managed to score as the clock wound down in the fourth quarter, but it was too late for any serious comeback; and the Lady Eagles made sure of that.

Before the final buzzer, Heanssler ran at the goalie and took a shot that easily found the back corner of goal.

“Our team played really well together,” said Heanssler. “We’ve been bringing what we worked on in practice and showing it on the field. I think our communication and our passes were key to the win of the game; our attitude was really good too. It’s exciting for all of us; it’s a good start and we saw what we did well and what we have to work on so that’ll help set us up for the start of the season.” <