Windham Middle School field hockey enjoys awesome start to season

By Matt Pascarella

In the very first game of the season, the Windham Middle School field hockey team defeated Gorham, 4-0, at home on Friday, Sept. 22 and showcased everything it’s been working on up to this point by commanding the field for two entire halves and never letting up.

Eighth grader Mirabelle Kir of Windham Middle School 
travels to the goal before scoring during a field hockey game
against Gorham at home on Friday, Sept. 22.
PHOTO BY MATT PASCARELLA 

“We’re so excited that it all just came together,” said Windham Middle School field hockey coach Emily Grudzien. “We haven’t seen them play together against another team yet, they talked really well, they were passing the ball, their basic skills looked awesome, we’re really excited.”

In the first half, Windham moved the ball well and worked to gain possessions. Windham’s defense prevented Gorham from making it close to the goal, while Windham’s offense got very close to Gorham’s goal, and it was Windham eighth grader Mirabelle Kri who got past the goalie and scored. A short time later, Kri scored her second goal. Before the end of the first half, Kri scored again, and Windham ended the half with a 3-0 lead over the Rams.

Kri said her ability to score was based upon a lot of practicing and a lot of communication and teamwork. She said she couldn’t have done it without her teammates and that she believes this team is doing well and she’s working with her teammates, who motivate her to push herself during the game.

At the start of second half of the game, Windham remained aggressive and went hard after the ball. Defense remained strong and Windham worked to block Gorham scoring opportunities. Not far into the half, Windham eighth grader Lexie Beach scored.

Despite holding a big lead, Windham did not let up until the final buzzer. They took multiple shots at goal right up until the very end.

“Our hard work and sportsmanship led to the win,” said Beach. “We all worked and talked with each other, had good passing and a lot of practice. It was a really good game.”

Eighth grader Ari Green said it was communication and the fact that they played well together led to the win. Windham teammates were cheering each other on and she felt like that really motivated them as a team. Green said it felt amazing for a first game and awesome to get back at Gorham after a tie game against them last year.

Grudzien said Windham needed to experience what a win felt like to have that motivation for the rest of the season and to be able to feel that way again. <