Nothing Is Solved Between Hartford, Woodstock Field Hockey

White River Junction — Even overtime was not enough to decide a winner between Hartford High and Woodstock, who battled all the way to the end of a very competitive field hockey game but ultimately tied, 1-1, on Monday at Hartford High School.

Woodstock came out of the gates with a lot of pressure on the Hartford defense, keeping the ball in its offensive zone for the first five minutes of the game. The Hurricanes pushed back quickly, not giving the Wasps any lanes to pass or shoot and were able to counterattack on offense.

The field was tilted in favor of the Wasps, who continuously tried the Hurricanes’ defense but had difficulty getting clean passes and shots through. The Wasps tallied only three shots in the first half.

With a little under six minutes left in the opening half, Hartford unleashed a barrage that lasted for well over two minutes. The Canes were finally rewarded with 3:45 left, when Greer McCarty found the ball right in front of the net and was able to put it down and to the left of Wasps goalkeeper Maggie Parker for the first goal of the game.

Woodstock coach Wendy Wannop knew adjustments had to be made during halftime.

“We worked on trying to open up the game more in the second half,” Wannop said. “We gave up a lot of one-on-one opportunities and focused on shutting that down in the second half.”

The second half was back and forth. The Wasps conceded three penalty corners in a row early in the half, but the Hurricanes managed only one shot on Parker. A few minutes later, Woodstock forward Lili Sorrentino led a few attacks, which created penalty corner opportunities for the Wasps.

With 18:02 remaining, a Woodstock corner attempt led to the tying goal. Mackenzie Yates recovered the ball from a scrum and got the ball to trickle just past Hartford goalkeeper Bailey Cameron to knot the score at 1-all.

Play continued back and forth for the remainder of the game. Both teams sustained attacks, but no one could find the back of the net. Hartford defender Maliya Sinclair was a rock on defense, stopping the ball and consistently getting it out of the zone. Sinclair saved a potential game-winning Woodstock goal with 2:30 left, blocking Sorrentino and clearing the rebound.

Overtime was quick and heavily contested. Each team conceded one-on-one breakaways, but both defenses stood strong until the end.

Cameron made three saves in a row for Hartford to keep the game tied. Cameron finished with six saves for the Canes, and Parker stopped five shots for the Wasps.

Hartford (1-3-1) hosts Bellows Falls on Friday. Woodstock (2-1-1) entertains Fair Haven on Wednesday.